An Aboriginal childcare centre in Scarborough has made it to the list of finalists for the Toronto Green Awards.
Designed by
Levitt Goodman Architects, the Scarborough Child and Family Life Centre was built on land owned by
Native Child and Family Services of Toronto, who worked with the architects to come up with the various recognized amenities and features.
The building has been shortlisted in the green design category.
"We've been working with them for about 10 years now," says Levitt Goodman associate Danny Bartman, who worked on the project with firm partner Dean Goodman. "We recently completed their headquarters and College and Bay.
"One of the main things is because they are the building owners and operators, they were interested in geothermal heating and cooling. Although it required an increased capital investment, it saves them about $10,000 a year on operating costs."
In addition to the geothermal system, Levitt Goodman worked with civil engineers
Fabian Papa and Partners to construct of
swale to contain the rain, roof and other site water in order to, as Bartman puts it, infiltrate it back into the water table. The riverbed snakes along the playground they also constructed, which consists of earth
berms, log bridges, sand mountains and teaching gardens featuring traditional plantings to teach the children about their heritage.
The 7,000-square-foot, two-storey building was built on the Kingston Road site between May 2010 and October 2011.
The winners of the various categories of the Toronto Green Awards will be announced on April 13.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Danny Bartman
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