Building Design Reduces Energy Consumption by 60 percent Canadian building designed for cold climates could serve as a model for future Minnesota construction MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- It's 10 degrees below zero outside in late January and the thermometer hasn't topped the freezing mark in days, yet the thermostat at your high-rise office building is idle, your teeth aren't chattering and you don't need an ice-scraper to see your computer screen. Welcome to the frozen North's office of the future. The Canadian developers of a cutting-edge green building designed specifically for cold weather climates visited the Twin Cities today to share their visionary project with local engineers and students during the University of Minnesota's "Green Building North" event, hosted by the Center for Sustainable Building Research and the Consulate General of Canada. The 690,000 square foot 22-story Manitoba Hydro head office, now under construction in downtown Winnipeg, will be 60 percent more energy efficient than a modern conventional office building. "Our new headquarters will be one the most energy efficient office towers in the world for an extreme climate such as Winnipeg," said Tom Gouldsborough, the Manitoba Hydro executive in charge of the project. "With LEED(TM) gold certification as our target, this project will be a world class model for sustainable building design and operation. We are creating an outstanding healthy and flexible business work environment that will enhance productivity," added Gouldsborough. The green building features a balanced geothermal heat pump system. During the colder months the system extracts heat from the ground to provide heat to the building and in the warmer months provides cooling by returning heat from the building into the ground. Ventilation is provided naturally by giant six-story indoor winter gardens that produce a fresh airflow system and create a healthy work environment with 100 percent fresh air 24/7 year round. Given similar climate challenges, the Winnipeg building could serve as a model for future office construction in the Twin Cities. The eco-friendly project offers numerous innovative solutions for dealing with extreme weather conditions -- especially harsh winters, where in Winnipeg five months of the year are typically spent at temperatures below 20 degrees. The building, which costs $278 million to build, will serve as a new corporate headquarters for Winnipeg-based Manitoba Hydro and is expected to save the utility more than $15 million annually through savings in lease costs, enhanced energy efficiencies, productivity improvements, co-location of employees and other design features. The project will be completed this spring.
