Energy Environment Experiential Learning
LEED Platinum
Green Building Highlights
EEEL responds to the necessity for modern, high calibre undergraduate learning environments in Canada's premier university campuses. The new facility, which opened September 2011, is student-centric, providing opportunities for hands-on and experiential learning in both individual and collaborative settings. The 26,200 square meter, five storey facility provides instructional space for expanded programs in energy and environments, and new laboratories for biology and chemistry.
Green Louvres
Horizontal shades provide passive temperature control, keeping the heat of the sun out in the summer (when it is hitting the building at a high angle) and allowing more heat in in the winter (when the sun is at a lower angle). The green vertical tracking shades are tied into the building management computer and automatically open or close based on conditions inside and outside the building.
Daylight
One of the most striking aspects of the EEEL building is its transparency. Systematically placed windows and interior glazing ensure that occupants throughout the building have a connection to the outdoors and a generous amount of daylight. At the top of the atrium is a large clerestory. The ceiling between the large windows on either side of the clerestory is designed to focus more daylight down into the central core of the building (typically the most difficult area for daylight to reach).
Modes of Transportation
EEEL is designed to be equally accessible by a number of forms of transportation. In addition to extensive secure bike parking by the main entrances of the building, showers and changing rooms are available to staff and faculty that work in the building to promote the inclusion of active forms of commuting. The pedestrian connection between EEEL and the ICT building embraces some of the concepts of a woonerf or living street. This area gives equal priority to all modes of transportation (including automobiles, bicycles and pedestrians) and uses architectural cues to break down the barrier between the sidewalk and the street.