WINNIPEG — A daycare in Winnipeg has been awarded LEED Platinum certification for revitalizing a building that had sat vacant for more than 20 years.
Building Blocks on Balmoral at Great-West Life is a 100-year-old heritage building that was known as the Milner House. After a rehabilitation process, the house now helps provide 100 licensed child care spots to Great-West Life employees and the West Broadway community.
The facility now has a geothermal ground source heat-pump with in-floor radiant heating and chilled beams for cooling.
The team also installed displacement ventilation translating to lower fan power and utilized salvaged materials. Substantial water use reduction and low-emitting materials also contributed to its Platinum certification.
The project provides more open space than was required by zoning by using the natural environment which occupies over 51 per cent of the site area. The staff intend to keep the space open and vegetated for the life of the day care. Stormwater management strategies using landscape and rainwater collection address the rate and treatment of stormwater onsite.
The team took care to plan the interior and exterior lighting design, so as to reduce light pollution into the night sky and adjacent land. The project sought to maximize water efficiency with the use of low flow fixtures and aerated faucets, with over a 50 per cent reduction in potable water use.
The province contributed $600,000 in a capital grant to the project in partnership with Great-West Life, which owns the building, and the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg.
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