Image courtesy WZMH Architects

The 52-storey Toronto LEED-Core & Shell (CS) Gold-certified building contains a myriad of green features.

Toronto's Bay Adelaide Centre's West Tower is now Canada's largest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-Core & Shell (CS) Gold-certified building.

Construction of the 125,000-m² (1.34 million-sf) building began in 1990, but stopped after 10 storeys were built. The structure was redeveloped last year, and includes a comprehensive transportation management program that incorporates a carpool and car-sharing program for tenants. The building is predicted to have energy savings of 35 per cent, and indoor water savings of 44 per cent.

Other various green features include:
• heritage façade reuse;
• a white, reflective roof;
• a 58-m³ (2048-cf) cistern that uses captured rainwater for irrigating the plaza and flushing toilets on the first four floors;
• an energy-efficient curtain wall;
• condensing boilers;
• occupancy sensors to control light levels;
• extensive use of urea formaldehyde-free and Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) wood; and
• recycled steel, carpeting, and concrete.

The building also encompasses life safety features, such as stairwells 20 per cent wider than Ontario Building Code (OBC) requirements, blast resistance for the bottom 11 storeys, and control collapse columns. In its construction, 96 per cent of the structure's waste was diverted from the landfill to recycling facilities.