When planning this two-storey trades facility, Okanagan College asked designers to push the limits of green construction to inspire a new generation of learners towards sustainable innovation. The Jim Pattison Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation was to achieve net-zero energy consumption within its lifespan and use only locally-sourced products for construction.

Project Essentials

  • LocationPenticton, BC
  • ClientOkanagan College
  • ArchitectHDR | CEI Architecture
  • Size70,000 ft² (6,503 m²)
  • BudgetC$28 million
  • Sustainable FeaturesLEED Platinum Certified, Targets Living Building Challenge

Compounding the challenges of this ambitious mandate was a fast-track schedule – the team would need to explore integration and prefabrication wherever possible to ensure the project’s success.

Programming includes 14 classrooms and labs, innovation incubation space, an on-roof test facility for alternative energy devices, five trade shops, a gymnasium.

 

To meet these goals, Fast + Epp developed a number of innovative structural components: our engineers pioneered the world’s first timber-concrete hybrid composite wall panels with integrated heating and cooling pipes, as well as steel-timber hybrid trusses, and the extensive use of FSC-certified and pine-beetle-kill lumber throughout.