CaGBC announces 2021 award winners

Some of this year’s winners worked on the high-profile Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation. Photo courtesy Mohawk College.

The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) has announced the winners of its 2021 awards, in advance of next month’s Building Lasting Change (BLC) green building conference, where they will be further celebrated.

The annual Green Building Leadership and Excellence awards honour Canadian projects and innovators throughout the construction sector for achieving strong performance across environmental, carbon emission reduction and human health factors.

Vivian Manasc. Photo courtesy CaGBC.

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Vivian Manasc, principal architect with Alberta’s Reimagine (formerly Manasc Isaac Architects, which she co-founded). For 35 years, Manasc has led integrated sustainable design teams for a wide variety of projects, including Alberta’s first LEED-certified building and the first LEED Gold building in the Arctic. She helped launch CaGBC, co-founded the Alberta Sustainable Buildings Symposium (ASBS) and served as president of the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada (RAIC).

Lisa Bate. Photo courtesy CaGBC.

The Green Building Champion Award goes to Lisa Bate, global sustainability and advance strategy lead for Toronto-headquartered B+H Architects. She has served as chair for CaGBC and the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) and as a representative to the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP’s) Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative (SBCI). Among the projects she has led is Mohawk College’s Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation in Hamilton, which has been certified to the Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) Standard.

The Green Building Pioneer Award goes to Hamilton-based McCallumSather. The firm has designed sustainable buildings throughout Southern Ontario for more than 25 years, including the aforementioned Joyce Centre (pictured, top).

Arman Mottaghi. Photo courtesy CaGBC.

The Emerging Green Leader, sponsored by Dialog, goes to Arman Mottaghi, co-founder and CEO of Vancouver-based Lambda Science, a startup in British Columbia that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help homebuilders develop cost- and energy-efficient designs. Mottaghi is also board director for the BC Sustainable Energy Association (BCSEA).

Ben Henderson. Photo courtesy CaGBC.

The Government Leadership Award, sponsored by Stantec, goes to Ben Henderson, an Edmonton councillor who chairs the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ (FCM’s) Green Municipal Fund (GMF) council. During his tenure, he has facilitated the provision of millions of dollars to green building capital projects.

BCIT’s ZEBLC. Photo courtesy CaGBC.

The Inspired Educator Award goes to the Zero Energy Buildings Learning Centre (ZEBLC), which was launched at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) to support the construction industry’s transition to the BC Energy Step Code and Vancouver’s Zero Emissions Building bylaws with a suite of short, hands-on training courses.

Susan Kapetanović-Marr, P.Eng. Photo courtesy CaGBC.

The Ed Lim Technical Expertise Volunteer Award goes to Susan Kapetanović-Marr, P.Eng., Calgary-based director of sustainability for Canderel Group. She has been an active CaGBC volunteer for 10 years, particularly supporting the sites-water technical advisory group (TAG).

MEC Vancouver. Photo courtesy CaGBC.

This year’s Green Building Excellence Award winners include: Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) Vancouver (new construction), a mass-timber building that contributes nearly twice as much energy to the neighbourhood utility as it consumes; 25 York Street (existing building), a Toronto office tower certified to LEED Platinum; the Confluence (inspiring home), a residence in Waiparous, Alta., with net-positive energy and water performance; and the Amped Sports Lab and Ice Complex (zero carbon), a commercial building in Ottawa that has lowered its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by nearly 90%.

Lindsey Kent’s student project. Image courtesy CaGBC.

Finally, the Andy Kesteloo Memorial Student Project Award goes to Lindsey Kent, a civil engineering student at the University of Calgary who has focused on redeveloping that city’s Rundle Manor affordable housing complex. Judges praised the project’s technical sophistication.