ALGONQUINCOLLEGE,OTTAWA
Institutional / LEED Platinum
Project brief
Algonquin College required site and landscape planning for its new Centre for Construction Excellence — a 190,000 sq. ft. teaching facility built over the City of Ottawa's LRT Transit Tunnel. The project involved two distinct and technically complex sites: the ACCE building perimeter and grounds, and the landscape directly over the city transit tunnel corridor. Most of the landscaping was constructed either on the building roof or on the transit tunnel roof, requiring detailed structural coordination and specialist expertise. The scope required close coordination between the building construction team (Ellis Don), the City of Ottawa, and OC Transpo to achieve LEED Platinum accreditation while managing the unique constraints of designing over an active underground transit system.
Gino's role
Urban design, landscape planning, tender documents, and intensive construction field review across both sites.
Project photos
Outcome
Completed on time and under budget. GJA delivered site and landscape planning that satisfied LEED Platinum certification requirements while resolving the significant technical challenge of constructing landscape over an active transit tunnel. The completed landscape integrates the building into the Algonquin College campus context, establishes clear pedestrian circulation, and provides outdoor spaces that support daily student and staff use across both sites.
