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(L-R) Hailie Ripley, RDP Residence student; Jim Brinkhurst, Vice President of Finance and Administration & Chief Financial Officer at RDP; Vedran Škopac, Principal Architect at Reimagine standing in front of awards display on residence building. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)
Environmental initiatives

Red Deer Polytechnic unveils five sustainability awards earned for Studio Residence building

May 9, 2023 | 10:57 AM

Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) celebrated on Monday five sustainability awards received for their Studio Residence building.

At an event held at the RDP’s newest Residence building on campus (100 College Blvd), the institution unveiled the national and international awards earned to staff, students and guests.

The awards include:

  • 2019 Canadian Wood Council Award
  • 2020 Prairie Wood Design Award: Industry Award of Excellence
  • 2021 Canada’s Clean 50 Top Project
  • 2022 Canadian Green Building Award: Residence Large
  • 2023 Contributor – Colleges and Institutes Canada’s (CICan) Excellence in Sustainable Development: Silver

The facility was also named a 2021/2022 International Union of Architects 2030 Award Finalist, the only finalist from North America out of 43 entrants.

The building opened in 2019 during the Canada Winter Games to provide a place for athletes to stay, before their grand opening as a residence for students in May that same year.

“At Red Deer Polytechnic, our Studio Residence building employs globally recognized sustainable technologies and contributes to our institution’s larger Alternative Energy Initiative,” said Jim Brinkhurst, Vice President of Finance and Administration and RDP’s Chief Financial Officer. “While this innovative facility provides a modern living and social space for RDP’s learners, it also creates education and applied research opportunities for students to gather and analyze data about solar generation in the Alternative Energy Lab.”

The five-story building, which features 145 studio suites, including 19 barrier-free, was constructed to optimize solar exposure with 545 vertical photovoltaic solar panels on the south, east and west outer walls. Vedran Škopac, Principal Architect at Reimagine who designed the residence, explained that one reason vertical panels were used is so they are easier to clean and maintain during winter months as snow can fall off naturally. Officials say the panels produce more than 120,000 kWh of electricity annually, equivalent to providing electricity for 55 homes for a year. Brinkhurst added that the solar panels can generate roughly 40 per cent of the residence’s own power and, when consumption is low, they can export that power to the grid for other use.

RDP Studio Residences (Supplied)

For energy conservation, RDP says the building also uses a high-performance building envelope to reduce heat loss and heat gain with a fiberglass frame, glazing window system, R-35 wall insulation and R-45 roof insulation.

They say low flow plumbing systems were installed to reduce water consumption and, while the building provides an abundance of natural light, low energy LED lights are also used on site.

Brinkhurst described, as another example of sustainability, that rather than throwing excess wood during construction to a landfill, they reused them to make tables scattered across the building which allowed the institution to save money and find a unique use for the locally sourced material.

Škopac stated that the design of the building put an emphasis on student mental health through their choice of lighting, height of ceilings, sound, plants and encouraging of social interactions.

“We wanted to create as many of these gathering spaces that are as different as they can be so students can sort of, get lost, as Alice in Wonderland, as they are wandering to their rooms. On the first floor, they get naturally invited in this social interaction with their colleagues rather than retrieving in their own room too soon. They have this privacy but also this social aspect as well which we know can be a subtle healing aspect of all our lives,” he said.

Vedran Škopac, Principal Architect at Reimagine speaks inside Studio Residence building during unveiling ceremony of sustainability awards on Monday. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

Hailey Ripley, originally from Stettler and recent graduate with a Diploma in Social Work, spent two years at the residence and echoed a similar sentiment.

“I like having my own space and still having the option that I can pick and choose when I wanted to hang out and socialize with my friends. In a conventional residence, you can’t always have that option and you don’t have the luxury of having your own space that you’re in control of and that was super important for me,” she said.

To commemorate the recognition, the names of the awards and nomination are displayed on six panes of the Studio Residence building’s south-facing windows.

The Polytechnic’s Alternative Energy Initiative aims to promote a green campus by using energy efficient technologies to reduce energy consumption. Part of the Polytechnic’s broader Green Campus Master Plan, it incorporates and develops alternative energy systems to provide learning and innovation opportunities for students and industry while reducing RDP’s carbon footprint. The institution reiterated their commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and to become a net zero institution over the next decade, producing enough energy on main campus to power its infrastructure.

Map of RDP campus; Studio Residence Building in green circle with arrow. (Supplied)

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