Manitoba Hydro Place

sustainability 
LEED® Platinum

location 
360 Portage Ave., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

client 
Manitoba Hydro

contractor 
PCL Construction Canada 

area 
700,000 sf

cost 
$283 Million

status
Completed 2009

awards

Keystone Award for Excellence for Building Engineering

National Award for an Engineering Project for Achievement

National Green Buildings Award

Commuter Friendly Workplace Gold Level Award

Award of Excellence for Buildings

National Urban Design Award from the RAIC

Manitoba Excellence in Sustainability Award for Research and Innovation for Sustainability

Top 10 Examples of Sustainable Architecture and Green Design Solutions from COTE

photography
KPMB

download the sustainable features brochure

Prairie was selected as the Professional Advisor for Manitoba Hydro to coordinate the overall development of the $250 million project. We reviewed Best Practice examples of sustainable high-rise office buildings and coordinated a tour of 20 leading sustainable buildings in Europe. We designed a process for the selection of 10 project consultant positions and coordinated the selection and rating of over 100 consultants from around the world. We also coordinated the selection of sites for the new building based upon sustainability, cost, zoning etc. As the project evolved, our role became one of coordinator of the Integrated Design Process where we established 12 design charette sessions where all 30 team members came together to work to design the building in an integrated fashion. Additional tasks include review of budgets, coordination of the LEED green building certification, and on-going advice on macro planning and design issues. 

Located at 360 Portage Avenue in Winnipeg, Manitoba Hydro Place is Manitoba Hydro’s corporate headquarters. It was constructed to meet the corporation’s present and future business needs while serving as a model for superior energy-efficient sustainable building design and operation. The largest office building in Winnipeg Manitoba Hydro Place is expected to use 65 percent less energy than a comparable office tower built to current standards and is certified LEED Platinum. 

Read how Manitoba Hydro Place surpassed energy goals one year after LEED Platinum certification! 

Lighting the way, Style Manitoba Winter 2009
High Performance Buildings, Architecture, Summer/Fall 2008  (Royal Architecture Institute of Canada)

Integrated Design Team 

Owner: Manitoba Hydro 
Design Architect: Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects, Toronto 
Architect of Record: Smith Carter Architects & Engineers Inc., Winnipeg 
Advocate Architect: Prairie Architects Inc., Winnipeg 
Energy Engineering: Transsolar Energietecknik GMBH, Stuttgart, Germany 
Construction Manager: PCL Constructors Canada Inc., Winnipeg 
Quantity Surveyor: Hanscomb Limited, Winnipeg 
Structural Engineering: Crosier Kilgour & Partners Ltd. and Halcrow Yolles, Toronto 
Electrical & Mechanical: EarthTech (Canada) Inc., Winnipeg (AECOM) 
Civil Engineering: Wardrop Engineering Inc., Winnipeg 
Geotechnical Engineering: UMA Engineering Ltd., Winnipeg and Dyregrov Consultants, Winnipeg 
Traffic, Access and Parking: ND LEA Inc., Winnipeg 
C-2000 Advisor: Natural Resources Canada 
Interior Designer: Marshall Cummings / IBI Group, Toronto, Number Ten Architectural Group, Winnipeg, and Environmental Space Planning, Winnipeg 
Acoustics: Aercoustics Engineering Limited, Toronto 
Building Envelope: Brook Van Dalen & Associates Ltd., Ottawa 
Landscape Architects: Hilderman Thomas Frank Cram, Winnipeg and Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg, Vancouver 
Commissioning Agent: Integrated Designs Inc., Saskatoon 
Life Safety and Code Engineering: Leber Rubes Inc., Toronto 
Vertical Transportation: Soberman Engineering, Toronto 
Micro Climate: Rowan Williams Davies and Irwin Inc., Guelph 
Water Feature: Dan Euser Waterarchitecture Inc., Toronto 
Power Smart Advisor: Manitoba Hydro