Jennifer Campbell

Calgary’s storm sewers just got a little less turbulent thanks to a new workspace for over 700 city employees. The Water Centre, the City of Calgary’s newest office building and the first to be developed under its eco-friendly sustainable building policy, was designed — fittingly enough — with water in mind, boasting several water-wise features like rain harvesting structures, low-water-use toilets and a green roof — one equipped with its own garden.

“This is the largest green roof in the city of Calgary,” Russ Golighty, the city’s project manager of building infrastructure, points out. “It provides natural cooling and natural warmth. We are trying to increase the impact of green roofs in Calgary.”

Water isn’t the only thing the building’s staff and architects are concerned about. The centre — like all structures designed under the city’s sustainable building policy — was mandated to reach at least silver certification in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, an international ranking system for environmentally friendly buildings. In fact, the centre has achieved gold certification and is the first in Alberta to do so.

“All our new buildings are built to the LEED's building standard,” Golighty says, touting the additional financial benefits of certification that come with reduced energy consumption and subsequent reduced cost. “The building will pay for itself in 15 years.”

With green in every corner in the new office space — 95 per cent natural lighting, a recycled-steel-rebar skeleton, giant underground cisterns that collect and clean runoff for use in future irrigation — the project is a bold attempt by the city to show it truly has taken environmental concerns to heart. The building’s offices also utilize recycled paper and other day-to-day implements.

“Water resources is something that is truly important,” Mayor Dave Bronconnier says. “You can’t live without it. When you look at the good news for the taxpayers — and that’s what it’s all about — this building is being built for under $200,000. This building has an energy savings of over 50 per cent, which is amazing. This is truly a leading example of what we are trying to achieve at the city.”