| Calgary Water Centre | |
| Building Type: | Office building |
| Location: | Calgary, Alberta |
| Owner: | City of Calgary |
| Completion Date: | June 4, 2008 |
| Diameter: | 160 m x 20 m |
| Floor Count: | 4 |
| Floor Area: | 183000abbr=onNaNabbr=on |
| Main Contractor: | Dominion Construction |
| Architecture Firm: | Manasc Isaac Sturgess Architecture |
The City of Calgary Water Centre is the headquarters of Calgary's Water Resources and Water Services' staff, housing its 460 professional and 314 field staff.[1] The four-storey office building was completed in 2008, and upon opening was both the largest LEED-rated office building in Alberta and Alberta's first Gold-certified building.[2] [3] The building was designed through a collaboration between Sturgess Architecture and Manasc Isaac.
The project began in 2005, and was expected to cost .[4] It was built on a brownfield site owned by the city near the Calgary Stampede grounds, previously occupied by a furrier and a C-Train depot.[4]
The Calgary Water Centre is the first building in Alberta to be certified Gold by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system,[3] and is one of the first to be built under the City of Calgary's 2003 requirement for all new buildings to meet or exceed LEED's Silver rating.[3] The building incorporates many sustainable design elements such as water conservation (including a green roof, rainwater harvesting, and zero-irrigation landscaping), natural lighting, and an innovative HVAC system.[5]
The building itself is 95% day lit, reduces waste water by 72%, reduces overall water usage by 59%, and achieves a 58% savings in annual energy consumption.[1] Additionally, the building's efficient use of materials resulted in a 95% recycling rate of excess construction material.[1] The building's energy savings are expected to offset its $43m construction cost in 15 years, and it is to operate for an additional 35 years with minimal maintenance costs.[1] [3]