Bow Valley College Celebrates Reopening of North Campus: Construction Maintains Focus on Sustainability
It was an event almost four years in the making – but it was definitely worth the wait. On May 26, a large crowd of dignitaries, students, teachers, staff and alumni celebrated the reopening of Bow Valley College’s North Campus. The event was the culmination of years of planning and construction, all with an eye to expanding the post-secondary offerings available to Calgary students – and maintaining a commitment to sustainability.
“With our mandate as Calgary and region’s One & Only Comprehensive Community College, we are creating a state-of-the-art learning environment for today and long into the future,” says Sharon Carry, Bow Valley College’s President and CEO. “The North Campus and the soon-to-be-completed South Campus are legacies for the future of post-secondary education in southern Alberta where 24/7 full-time, part-time, online, in-class learning options will be an expected part of the curriculum.”
A long-time member of the imagineCALGARY Partnership, Bow Valley College is focused on contributing to imagineCALGARY’s Targets for Meaningful Work, Economic Well-Being, Lifelong Learning, Sufficient Income, and Sense of Community. Through its Workplace Training Services, Bow Valley College works with individuals and employers to identify skill gaps and training needs, and creates customized orientation courses for new employees and non-native English speakers in areas including leadership and teamwork, intercultural and interpersonal communications, industry-specific language training, work experience, and its many career development services.
There’s no question the North Campus renovations were completed with an eye to sustainability. The project reclaimed an additional 5,600 square feet of usable space, and was completed at one-half the cost of constructing a new building. The redevelopment features state-of-the-art labs, a new library and learning commons, and improved study areas and gathering spaces for students.
Other examples of sustainability throughout the construction process include:
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Recycling the old North Campus windows for use in a building in Edmonton |
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Reusing concrete refuse from the North Campus at the same site to raise the main floor elevation |
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Using vegetated rooftops to reduce the urban heat island effect |
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Integrating new air handling systems that recover 80 per cent of energy from exhaust air that would otherwise be lost |
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Installing lighting controls that toggle on or off in response to CO2 and ambient light levels or manual switches |
Bow Valley College recently signed two national protocols on environmental sustainability: the University and College Presidents’ Climate Change Statement of Action for Canada and the Pan Canadian Protocol for Sustainability. Both urge educational institutions to drive positive change by sharing knowledge, research and best practices with both learners and members of the wider community.
The College has also created the Bow Valley College Green Team to oversee the implementation of a sustainable campus for generations to come. In addition, environmental sustainability has been added to Bow Valley’s list of nine essential skills, called College-wide Learning Outcomes, with the following mandate:
Examples of applications for this focus include taking responsibility for environmental impacts on the community, and managing environmental and societal impacts in decision making.
The North Campus renovations were made possible by extensive community support for the project. The College’s first-ever capital campaign – Improving Lives Beyond the Classroom™ – raised $13 million, exceeding its initial goal by $3 million. Additional funding for the $82 million project was received from the provincial government (Alberta Advanced Education and Technology and Alberta Infrastructure), and the federal government through its Knowledge Infrastructure Program.
These initial renovations are part of a $271 million expansion that includes construction of a new seven-storey, LEED-certified building. When completed in 2013, Bow Valley College’s North and South campus buildings will allow the College to double its enrolment to 20,000 students by 2020.
Today Bow Valley College has an annual base of 11,000 students, 207 faculty and 309 staff. One-year career certificates and two-year diplomas are offered in health and human services, business, and computer training. Bow Valley College also offers programs in English as a second language, academic upgrading, and continuing education.
