Announcements April 22, 2021

Two Perkins&Will Higher Ed Projects Win National AIA Awards for Excellence in Environmental Performance

Congratulations to our clients and project teams behind the Toronto Metropolitan University Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex and the University of Washington Life Sciences Building for winning AIA COTE® Top Ten Awards!

The annual awards, presented by the American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment, recognize 10 innovative and high-performing projects for their integration of design excellence and environmental performance. Since 2004, six of our projects have won a COTE Top Ten Award.

“We’re honored that two of our projects received this exceptional recognition,” says our firmwide Director of Sustainability Paula McEvoy. “We owe a debt of gratitude to our clients, whose vision and leadership made this possible, and whose commitment to human and ecological well-being is a core value we share.”

Here’s a look at the winning projects:

Compared to typical construction, the building uses 32% less energy, consumes 35% less potable water, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 945,000 kilograms each year.

Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex (DCHSC) at Toronto Metropolitan University

Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex (DCHSC) at Toronto Metropolitan University
Toronto, Ontario

This 28-story health education tower connects Toronto Metropolitan’s academic and residential life to the dense, vibrant city of Toronto. During design, the project team used our Precautionary List, a database of hazardous and harmful materials, to assess over 250 potential products. More than 75% of the materials used are free of toxic substances and have a low environmental impact.

The project takes an ambitious approach to sustainability. Compared to typical construction, the building uses 32% less energy, consumes 35% less potable water, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 945,000 kilograms each year. Other sustainability strategies include a rooftop urban farm that provides food to the ground floor restaurant and nutrition labs. The rooftop also serves as an outdoor amenity space for residents. To inform future development at Toronto Metropolitan, the building features enhanced metering and monitoring that allows students to view their energy and water consumption.

“We hope that this level of engagement with analytics and machine learning will create a new culture of informed accountability,” says Principal Ryan Bragg.

DCHSC model

More than 75% of the materials used are free of toxic substances and have a low environmental impact.

University of Washington Life Sciences Building (LSB)
Seattle, Washington

LSB is a flexible, collaborative, and highly sustainable building for the expanding STEM and Biology Research programs at the University of Washington (UW). One of the primary goals was to place science and sustainability on display, making the building part of the education. The design team partnered with UW students to create a first-of-its-kind installation of “building integrated photovoltaics” (BIPVs)—solar cells on thin film that are laminated within vertical glass fins. These custom-made panels on the façade reduce unwanted solar heat gain while also producing enough electricity to light all four floors of offices.

“This innovative design was a result of an extensively and collaborative process between project leadership, stakeholders, and students,” says Project Manager Andrew Clinch.

One of the primary goals of this building was to place science and sustainability on display, making the building part of the education.

We partnered with UW students to create custom-made panels that reduce unwanted solar heat gain while also producing electricity.

The southwest façade of these solar fins is a billboard for sustainable innovation—feeding real-time data to touchscreen dashboards in the entry lobby. Here, students can compare the energy being generated by the standard solar panels on the roof with the energy generated by the solar fins. These solar panels generate a combined 122,000 kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity each year, enough to charge 3,540 electric cars!

“LSB demonstrates how our built environment can help solve climate issues by using solar glass in a way that’s never been done before: to both cool the building and generate electricity,” says Anthony Gianopoulos, Managing Principal. “We hope the building provides the resources for STEM students and Biology faculty to continue working together on advanced research through the generations.”

Click here for a complete list of AIA COTE Top Ten Award winners.

Congratulations, again, to our clients and project teams!

Two Perkins&Will Higher Ed Projects Win National AIA Awards for Excellence in Environmental Performance

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