When Humber River Hospital (HRH) opened its doors near Keele and the 401 in 2015, the massive facility became North America’s first fully digital hospital. Designed by HDR Architects and built by PCL, the 14-storey, 1.8 million square foot hospital was thoughtfully designed to meet the evolving needs of healthcare, while also taking energy efficiency into account to reduce operating costs and the site's carbon footprint in an effort to achieve LEED® Gold status.

Humber River Hospital, image courtesy of PCL

In recognition of PCL's work on the project's sustainability—which involved a 43.5-month design-build phase—The Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) has awarded PCL and its partners with the 2018 Excellence in Green Building: New Construction Institutional Award, which honours new construction projects that serve as examples of sustainable building.

Responding to the award, a prepared statement by HRH president & CEO Barb Collins reads “On behalf of our partners, we are grateful to the CaGBC for celebrating the outcomes of our vision for Humber River Hospital which was designed and built on three core principles: Lean, Green, and Digital. This award is a testament to the tremendous collaborative efforts of our hospital, compliance team, Plenary Group, and design-build partners led by PCL who delivered our vision for North America’s first fully digital hospital."

PCL was recognized for the building's impressive Energy Use Intensity (EUI) target of 348 ekWh/m²—which is 47% lower than the Energy Star Portfolio Manager Canada target for hospitals—as well as features like the first-in-Canada use of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), and sustainable offsite construction techniques.

"As Canada's leading general contractor, PCL is committed to the pursuit of value and innovation to build our clients’ vision," states Bruce Sonnenberg, PCL Toronto vice president and district manager. "We congratulate all partners involved in bringing Humber River Hospital’s lean, green, and digital vision to life. The result of our combined efforts is a smart hospital that balances energy efficiency and intelligent building technology to support healthcare professionals in providing exemplary patient care, in an environment that promotes wellness.”

The award presentation took place this past Wednesday, June 6th at CaGBC’s national conference held in the Beanfield Centre at Exhibition Place, Toronto. Thomas Mueller, president and CEO of the Canada Green Building Council, declared referring to he HRH award, “I am very pleased to congratulate this year’s CaGBC Leadership and Green Building Excellence Award winners. This year we decided to raise the bar by adding additional recognition awards for exceptional projects and the results are clear: Canada is home to many of the world’s leading green buildings and innovators.”

Let us know what you think in the comments section provided below.