York U's Award-Winning Green Design

(credit: York University)

York University’s Computer Science and Engineering Building has the distinctive honour of being the first cold-weather ‘green’ building to be built by a Canadian University and reflects York’s deep commitment to sustainability. Completed in 2003, the building was designed by Toronto-based architectsAlliance in partnership with Vancouver-based Busby + Associates.

(image provided by architectsAlliance)

(image provided by architectsAlliance)

(image provided by architectsAlliance)

Built on an infill development site instead of a green field, the disturbance to surrounding wildlife and vegetation was minimized. The structure’s ventilation system forgoes any traditional ductwork and instead relies on the atrium spaces to capture heat stratification opportunities and a south-facing window façade to obtain additional warmth. The roof garden also aids in the heating and cooling by insulating the building, as does the calculated placement of computer rooms in the north end to minimize heat gain in the summer and heat loss in winter. 

These and other innovative solutions have resulted in one-third of the energy requirements of comparable buildings, which translates into a savings of 68% of energy required to heat, cool and light the structure. It is estimated that over a 75-year span the Computer Science and Engineering Building will save 85,700 tonnes of green house gas emissions equivalents, or one barrel of oil per occupant per year!

These extensive efforts towards greening the campus have not gone unnoticed. The building won the 2002 Governor General’s Award in Architecture and was named the 2002 World Architecture Magazine’s Green Building of the Year.

What greening efforts on campus are you involved in?