Ontario Construction News staff writer
The new Western Memorial Regional Hospital in Corner Brook is home to Canada’s largest geothermal system, which has set a precedent for modern infrastructure for both Newfoundland and Labrador and North America. The geothermal field is about 600 feet below the hospital’s parking lot and provides 100 per cent of the ground source geothermal heating for the hospital – the largest of its kind for a health care facility in North America.
“The new Western Memorial Regional Hospital, featuring Canada’s largest geothermal system, goes beyond delivering exceptional design and healthcare for western Newfoundland,” said Mark Berest, principal architect, Parkin/B+H Architects in joint venture. “It celebrates the beauty of the surrounding landscape, and together with Parkin Architects, PCL and the Corner Brook Health Partnership team, we are proud to have supported the delivery of this much needed healthcare facility.”The hospital was completed by Corner Brook Health Partnership (CBHP):
- Developer: Plenary Americas
- Design-builder: PCL/MARCO
- Architects: Parkin/B+H
- Facilities Management: Johnson Controls Inc.
- Mechanical/Electrical Subcontractors: Cahill Plan Group JV
- Structural Consultant: WSP Canada Group Limited
- LEED Consultant: Footprint
- Geothermal: Geosource Energy
“On behalf of the Corner Brook Health Partnership team, congratulations to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services and the collaborative project team on achieving LEED Certification for the new purpose-built Western Memorial Regional Hospital,” said Marc Pascoli, senior vice president and district manager, PCL Constructors Canada Inc. “This accomplishment would not have been possible without the everyone’s commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility in design and construction.
“As the first 100% geothermal healthcare facility in North America, the Western Memorial Regional Hospital truly demonstrates that implementing energy efficient measures and sustainability best practices in newly constructed institutional facilities pushes the industry forward in the path to a resilient future.”
The system provides about 12 per cent total cost savings over the life span of 30 years. It was also key in eliminating cooling towers at the hospital, saving up to two million gallons of water per year.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® (LEED®) Silver Certification is issued by the Canada Green Building Council, LEED, an international symbol of sustainability excellence and green building leadership. LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building project was designed and built, or operated, to achieve high performance in six areas of human and environmental health:
- Location and transportation
- Sustainable site development
- Water savings
- Energy efficiency
- Materials selection
- Indoor environmental quality