By IAN ROSS
In three years time, Cambrian College will be introducing graduates to the workforce skilled in the new wave of green building design and construction.
In September, the Sudbury college welcomed its first 30 students for its inaugural Energy Systems Technology program.
Those students will see first-hand how a green building comes together when construction begins next spring on the $6 million Sustainable Energy Centre, the program’s new home.
Green design is one of the latest environmentally friendly trends using more efficient heating and cooling systems for buildings using renewable materials, while reducing its impact on the environment.
“There are a lot of opportunities for new businesses,” says the centre’s project manager John Hood, of the potential economic spinoffs of the three-year program.
The technology program will get some exposure with a one-day Living Building Conference at Cambrian’s high tech eDome facility, Sept. 27. Speakers will present the latest information on geothermal heat pump systems, straw bale construction, healthy housing and solar thermal heating.
Some Sudbury institutional buildings are being built or designed to incorporate LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) principles. And Cambrian wants to produce professionals on the leading edge of these new alternative energy technologies.
Hood says the program offers an interesting mix of architecture, engineering and science.
First-year course material ranges from general chemistry, physical sciences, biological and electrical fundamentals, to more in-depth study in Year 2 and 3, towards energy modeling, thermodynamics, computer-aided drafting, architectural design and construction project management.
Upon graduation, students will be able to work as green building project managers or design consultants. They’ll also have a solid grounding to start their own business.
Worked into their schedule will be weekly lab time with local entrepreneurs in developing new alternative energy products.
“They’ll be learning from each other with the latest technology,” says Hood. “In the process, they’ll be familiar with how to start up a business themselves.”
Public interest in more environmentally sustainable design and construction is on the rise. Hood says there’s many existing but “hidden entrepreneurs” working with straw bale construction and wind turbine technology.
But there’s a lack of general knowledge about costs, durability and what government funding programs are available.
“Right now people are learning on their own.”
The 6,200-square-foot Sustainable Energy Centre, when complete in 2009, will be fitted with straw-bailed walls and research pods built to standard building code to be used as baseline measurements against green technologies.
When opened, the building will also serve as learning resource centre with home owners’ workshops.
Hood says the building’s concept is essentially complete with architectural and engineering work underway.
The centre will be one step above LEED principles, under new Living Building standards set out by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council.
One of its directors, Sudbury native Jason McLennan, is a partner with BNIM Architects, a leading Kansas City-based green architectural firm, hired to work with Cambrian and their design team.
That group involves other green building experts comprising Toronto’s Sustainable Edge and Sudbury firms, K. Lang Engineering Ltd., Halsall Associates, William Fryer Landscape Architect and local architect Dennis Castellan.
Hood says Cambrian is working with local companies on passive solar devices and an Austrian firm is interested in participating with a biomass furnace.
Cambrian is expecting a $2 million contribution from a private company, plus a $75,000 contribution from an undisclosed individual from Great Britain. More funds are expected to come from the Ontario government and the college is looking for additional private sector involvement.
