In April of 2006, Winnipeg Airports Authority announced that it was seeking to become the first air terminal building in Canada to achieve leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) certification. The WAA is still on par to achieve that certification, and so I thought I would share some of the building initiatives that will make us green.

Sustainability and limited energy consumption are two of the main factors that will make this building environmentally friendly. The heating system – as an example of sustainability – uses wasted energy derived from internal systems. By capturing waste heat from computer and electronic rooms, the system circulates that heat to colder areas of the building.

The latest in LED lamp technology and fibre optic light fixtures have been incorporated in the terminal building, as well as the parkade. Since these methods of lighting reduce the amount of energy normally required to light a large building, it brings the airports energy consumption figures below the commonly required North American energy standards.

On top of that, the amount of natural light that will pour into the terminal building reduces the need for artificial light. So ever though advanced technology is being used light the facility in an environmentally friendly manner, good old natural light will be well used on a daily basis.

Another neat fact is the amount of recycled steel that has been used to build the structure of the new building. Believe it or not, steel is one of the most recycled materials in the world, and the new Air Terminal Building will use steel that consists of 90-98% recycled material. From old appliances to soup cans to even that old car you got after high school – mine was a ’93 Corolla, which I still have… - gets reused for projects like this. And the best part is, the product quality is uncompromised.

I’ll be sure to touch more on the design of the building and its ‘passenger flow’ in another post, which also relates to its LEED design.