EllisDon has announced that its work at the Centennial College Block A Expansion has achieved WELL Silver Certification.

The WELL designation focuses on human health and wellness and building structures that prioritize and enhance occupants’ well-being.

WELL standards are built on the latest scientific research on the impact of space on health and well-being, and industry best practices. This approach is designed to address a range of issues prevalent in modern environments, from mitigating burnout, to increasing movement, to safe air and drinking water.

“We focused on specific design decisions that prioritized air quality, water quality and thermal comfort,” said Pablo Lopez Arbelaez, Project Manager, Sustainable Building Solutions, EllisDon. “These are sustainability practices that align with EllisDon’s values, as well as Centennial College’s health-oriented mission.”

The A Block Expansion was a notable development that added a new five-story building with a lower level, providing approximately 136,000 square feet of new space and 16,085 square feet of renovated area.

The expansion included three key elements: the construction of a new building for student services and office areas, partial renovation of the existing A Block structure from 1994, and enhancements to the exteriors of both buildings.

The A Block Expansion became Toronto's inaugural post-secondary facility constructed with mass timber. The building was assembled using over 3,600 cubic meters of cross and glue-laminated timber, all locally sourced from Nordic Structures in Montreal, sustainably harvested, and FSC-certified.

The use of mass timber for structural systems markedly lowered embodied carbon. Additionally, the project prioritized a high-efficiency building enclosure to reduce thermal loads, complemented by an effective mechanical system to optimize comfort. Renewable energy solutions were also incorporated into the design to offset energy requirements.