Ross Grieve PCL Centennial Learning Centre
Training Hub is a Model of Sustainability
Office & Workplace
The Ross Grieve PCL Centennial Learning Centre was built in celebration of PCL’s 100th Anniversary and focuses on staff training and education. As the flagship of their North American headquarters, the Centre is a model of sustainable design. It was the first commercial project in Alberta to receive LEED Gold certification. The PCL Business Park in which the building sits was also redeveloped to be more welcoming and exciting for visitors.
- Location
- Edmonton, AB
- Size
- 26,147 sq ft
- Client
- PCL Construction
- Completion
- 2006
- Sustainability LEED® Gold certified
- Collaborators
PCL Construction Management Inc.
- DIALOG Services
Architecture
Electrical Engineering
Interior Design
Landscape Architecture
Mechanical Engineering
Structural Engineering
The Ross Grieve Centennial Learning Centre (CLC) is a 29,000-square-foot addition linking the two largest buildings in the PCL business park.
The design celebrates construction excellence. Structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering systems are incorporated into the architecture and interior design for a visibly integrated solution.
The Learning Centre’s main level includes reception, a state-of-the-art boardroom, and offices for professional development and human resources.
In the basement is a state-of-the-art training room for up to 60 students, video conference rooms, meeting rooms, a large lunchroom, and a spacious Grand Hall that looks out onto the gardens.
Every aspect of the design maximizes sustainability while maintaining budget. Thanks to this approach, the Centre was the first commercial LEED Gold Certified project in Alberta.
The Team
The materials palette is a contemporary mix of concrete, metal, glass, and wood. Structural steel was a natural choice to accommodate long spans and gives a light, open appearance to a glass atrium bisecting the building. Ornamental metal is used to clad the exposed vertical duct shafts and to create the large overhead pivot door into the professional development offices. The large projection screen in the Assembly Hall is contained within a stainless-steel mantle over the fireplace.
A central glass “spine” is an integral part of the ventilation system that provides summer cooling. The facility’s exposed concrete also provides a high thermal mass structure that regulates interior temperatures. The central atrium acts as a solar chimney to drive natural ventilation during the spring, summer, and fall. It also captures passive solar heat during the winter. Intake air is channeled deep underground to make use of cooling in summer and heating in winter, reducing HVAC energy consumption.
The central courtyard is developed as a sloped garden towards the lower level of the Centre. A series of lawns connected by walkways leads to a main terrace. Major events are held in the courtyard, along with daily use. Surface water is captured for irrigation purposes and all the Centre’s plumbing fixtures are either low consumption or waterless to virtually eliminate the use of potable water for irrigation.
At the project’s outset, LEED was emerging as a sustainable design protocol. PCL and DIALOG welcomed the opportunity to build a uniquely collaborative owner, constructor, and designer project team to explore the leading edge sustainable design principles.