Yellowknife could be home to CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 most sustainable building by 2020.

The , an initiative by Ecology North and the Yellowknives Dene First Nation (YKDFN), has been in the works for about four years.

The project started in 2015 with the passing of Ecology North's executive director Doug Ritchie, who did a lot of work with the YKDFN said William Gagnon, green buildings specialist at Ecology North.

SA国际影视传媒淎nd so it was kind of natural that Ecology North would get in partnership with the
Yellowknives Dene to create this space,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

It was important to Ritchie that Ecology North have a place to call home said Gagnon.

When Ritchie passed away his family donated a sum of money, which was put into a trust fund and a committee was formed to plan the project Gagnon explained.

SA国际影视传媒淚n 2017 the committee hired one full-time staff and that was me and then from there we kind of grew and accelerated our work and defined what the project would be,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Currently, the project is seeking funding from different government organizations and applying to have a mixed-use building at an undetermined location in downtown Yellowknife.

SA国际影视传媒淲e have a site and a building at the site already,SA国际影视传媒� said Gagnon.

TheySA国际影视传媒檙e hoping to move in by November 2020 if all goes well with funding.

SA国际影视传媒淲e recognize that itSA国际影视传媒檚 quite a tight timeline, however I donSA国际影视传媒檛 think itSA国际影视传媒檚 impossible,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

The design

Gagnon said theySA国际影视传媒檙e aiming for the building to qualify in the , a green building certification standard similar to LEED SA国际影视传媒� Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Ecology North wants the building to be a demonstration space for what green building technologies can do and what fighting climate change looks like in a building, he said.

SA国际影视传媒淭his building standard asks for a building to have a net positive impact in all spheres so energy, water, materials, but also for its impact on people,SA国际影视传媒� Gagnon explained.

To qualify, the building must produce more energy than it consumes in a year, water leaving the site must be cleaner than what's on site and it must use local materials. Ecology North has partnered with NWT Habitat for Humanity and ReStore to help source local building materials.

SA国际影视传媒淲hen we move into the designs for it weSA国际影视传媒檙e going to have identified some materials in the community that we want to reuse and we know thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a few buildings that are due for demolition," said Gagnon.

"So weSA国际影视传媒檇 love to look at what materials are available in the community first and then prioritize these materials as part of the design."

They hope to have the designs for the building by August said Gagnon.

The economics

In April the project received $130,050 in funding towards planning work, and the 2020 timeline will depend on further funding said Gagnon.

Ecology North approached the YKDFN lands department to partner on the project because as an economic development body it has a lot of leverage.

SA国际影视传媒淭hey said itSA国际影视传媒檚 an interesting project, itSA国际影视传媒檚 great, but at the moment weSA国际影视传媒檙e struggling with job creation, our community needs to have some more employment,SA国际影视传媒� said Gagnon.

The project wants to help diversify the economy and create jobs based on retrofitting buildings with energy-efficient alternatives, including installing solar panels.

SA国际影视传媒淭hatSA国际影视传媒檚 going to take a lot of people to do that SA国际影视传媒� if we want to retrofit all the buildings in the Northwest Territories to be carbon-neutral before 2050, as mandated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,SA国际影视传媒� Gagnon explained.

The goal is for the building to be a demonstration space for green building technologies and demonstrate what fighting climate change looks like in a building, he said.

Gagnon hopes the project will also show fighting climate change is not political.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 something that makes sense for job creation and for increasing quality of life,SA国际影视传媒� he said.

The territory would actually save money if all buildings in the NWT were retrofitted he argued.

SA国际影视传媒淭hereSA国际影视传媒檚 actually a payback on this investment, so itSA国际影视传媒檚 not a political argument it's good for the environment, itSA国际影视传媒檚 good for creating jobs, itSA国际影视传媒檚 good for people because it reduces air pollution,SA国际影视传媒� said Gagnon.

Once the Northern Centre for Sustainability is established, Gagnon hopes others will see the possibilities and follow suit with energy-efficient retrofits.

Ecology North has a track record of starting initiatives and seeing them take off, including the recycling and composting program, he said.

SA国际影视传媒淚 think Ecology North just wants to inspire people really to do the same thing.SA国际影视传媒�