With the Pan Am Games just around the corner, more and more places and buildings are gearing up for the games. Among the many locations where the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games will take place is the NORR Architects-designed Toronto Pan Am Sport Centre located on the University of Toronto's Scarborough Campus (UTSC). The recently completed facility has been awarded a Leadership in Environmental and Energy (LEED) Gold Certification. LEED, established in 1994 and adopted by the Canadian Green Building Council in 2003, sets international standards for sustainable development.

The Toronto Pan Am Sport Centre's exterior, image courtesy of The University of Toronto Scarborough

The Toronto Pan Am Sport Centre was recognized with LEED Gold status for cutting-edge environmental design that used responsible construction methods and which will reduce ongoing operating costs. For example, the building has 1,856 solar panels mounted on its roof which generate 563 KW of power per hour and reduce energy consumption by 10 to 15%.

1,856 Solar panels at Toronto Pan Am Sport Centre rooftop, image courtesy of The University of Toronto Scarborough

In areas where the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre's roof is not covered with solar panels, 60,000 square feet of greenery reduces the building's heat-island effect and adds to the insulation.

An ariel view of the Toronto Pan Am Sport Center, image courtesy of The University of Toronto Scarborough

Below ground there are more stories to tell: three underground cisterns are utilized to collect rainwater for irrigation, while 99% of the cooling and 40% of the heating in the sports facility is supported by a geothermal field that is provided with more than 100 wellpoints that reach 183 metres (600 feet) underground.

A rendering of the Toronto Pan Am Sport Centre, image courtesy of The University of Toronto Scarborough

LEDs are used for lighting in every section of the building, consuming 35% less power than florescent and 80% less than incandescent fixtures.

The Toronto Pan Am Sport Centre at dusk, image courtesy of The University of Toronto Scarborough

The Toronto Pan Am Sport Centre has several other awards attributed to its name, two of which went to builder PCL Construction who were awarded the 2015 Ontario General Constructors Association award for Best Project Built and the Toronto Construction Association Achievement Award for the Best Large Project. 

With The Toronto Pan Am Sport Centre complete and open for operation, and now the first UTSC building to be awarded LEED Gold Certification, all eyes are on UTSC's coming Environmental Science and Chemical Building, which will be completed this year and is designed to achieve the LEED Gold Standard.

If you want to know more about the various games facilities and emergent neighbourhood, we have several UrbanToronto dataBase files for you to explore, which are linked below. Each includes several renderings and plenty of information. Want to talk about it all? You can join in on the conversation in any of the associated Forum threads, or add you voice in the comments field provided on this page.