Jim Pattison Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation at Okanagan College

Penticton, BC
Construction Cost: $27.6 million (Canadian)
Area / Square Feet: 73,000
Occupancy Date: May 2011

The Centre of Excellence, located on the Penticton Campus of Okanagan College, serves the need for tradespeople, site managers and construction workers skilled in the practices of sustainable building. As such, it was designed to meet the rigorous standards of the Living Building Challenge and is considered one of the most innovative and advanced sustainable facilities in the world.

The building’s cantilevered canopy is a gateway to the campus and the central courtyard. One of the center’s three buildings boasts Okanagan College’s only full-size gymnasium in support of athletics and recreation programming, hosting intramural sports, fitness classes and other recreation events. Students have access to a state-of-the art fitness center, and the gym is open for drop-in sports such as basketball, soccer and badminton. It can also host social events such as barbecues, movie nights and speaker series.

Among the many LBC requirements, the Centre of Excellence utilizes 100 percent local and environmentally sensitive materials. The predominance of wood — the majority drawn from pine-beetle kill forests — is in part a response to the government’s Wood First Act, which aims to promote a culture of wood in the province’s construction industry. The building’s gymnasium walls are constructed using composite panels that are a combination of concrete and glulam, believed to be the only example of its kind in North America.