{"id":31375,"date":"2025-12-19T12:58:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T02:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=31375"},"modified":"2025-12-19T13:02:03","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T03:02:03","slug":"inside-limberlost-place-the-10storey-timber-building-using-lake-ontario-for-climate-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/inside-limberlost-place-the-10storey-timber-building-using-lake-ontario-for-climate-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Limberlost Place \u2014 The 10\u2011Storey Timber Building Using Lake Ontario for Climate Control"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A 10\u2011storey mass timber tower on Toronto\u2019s waterfront \u2014 the first building to use deep\u2011lake water for both heating and cooling \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newswire.ca\/news-releases\/pcl-built-limberlost-place-named-global-best-project-of-the-year-830877135.html\">has been named Global Best Project of the Year by Engineering News\u2011Record, beating out 90 projects from 24 different countries.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis global recognition reflects the dedication of our people and partners to tackle complex challenges and deliver innovative, sustainable, and industry\u2011leading solutions,\u201d according to Chris Gower, president and CEO of PCL Construction. \u201cWe\u2019re grateful to ENR for this honour and proud to share it with our client, partners, and workforce, whose collaboration and commitment to excellence bring our purpose of building a better future together to life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Limberlost Place, which opened earlier this year as part of George Brown College\u2019s downtown campus, is being hailed as a landmark in mass timber construction. Urban Toronto, <a href=\"https:\/\/urbantoronto.ca\/news\/2025\/05\/limberlost-place-inside-canadas-first-institutional-mass-timber-tower.58676\">which toured the building before its opening in mid-May,<\/a> described it as Canada\u2019s first institutional mass timber tower \u2014 and one that sets a new benchmark for exposed timber architecture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cOne of the challenges was sneaking a 10-storey building into a site that really could only occupy a 9-storey building.\u201d \u2013 Phil Silverstein, Principal at <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/moriyamateshima?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@moriyamateshima<\/a><br><br>Design, engineering, and creativity all came together at Limberlost Place.<br><br>\ud83c\udfa5: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/u78Fk7Zm6o\">https:\/\/t.co\/u78Fk7Zm6o<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Vt5SEcf6eJ\">pic.twitter.com\/Vt5SEcf6eJ<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Canadian Wood Council (@CDNWoodCouncil) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CDNWoodCouncil\/status\/1982796673589055543?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 27, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In total, more than half of the wood used in the project is left visible, with fire\u2011retardant treatments allowing the structure itself to become a design feature. \u201cThis is complemented by wood wall and ceiling finishes, stair guards, and accents,\u201d said Urban Toronto\u2019s Julian Mirabelli. \u201cThere is no mistaking that this building is a showcase for the versatility of wood construction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The building\u2019s engineering is equally ambitious.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>Limberlost Place uses some of the largest mass timber columns and beams ever installed, including three\u2011storey glulam columns and an intricate system of cross\u2011laminated timber panels that click into place. Its slab\u2011band structural system pushes mass timber into new territory for multi\u2011storey buildings, while a dramatic timber staircase rising from levels three to five anchors the interior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet the most unusual feature lies far below the surface of Lake Ontario, with the building connected to Enwave\u2019s Deep Lake Cooling and Heating System, a closed\u2011loop network that draws icy water from intake pipes extending more than five kilometres offshore. \u201cThere are three intake pipes that go deep into the bottom of Lake Ontario,\u201d explained Carson Gemmill, Enwave\u2019s Vice President of Solutions and Innovation, who said the new system circulates the water through a filtration plant on Toronto Island before distributing it to buildings across the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udccd Toronto, ON<br>\ud83d\udc65 Moriyama Teshima Architects<br>\ud83c\udfdb\ufe0f Limberlost Place<br><br>In this clip from Episode 155, Phil Silverstein explains how Limberlost Place demonstrates mass timber innovation and low-carbon design for the next generation of architects.<br><br>\ud83d\udd17<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/fkrZZbTldH\">https:\/\/t.co\/fkrZZbTldH<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/j2Vy7fzCun\">pic.twitter.com\/j2Vy7fzCun<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Detailed Podcast (@DetailedPodcast) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DetailedPodcast\/status\/1998104066824565102?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 8, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking to CBC News last year, Gemmill said the system captures waste heat from cooling buildings in summer and converts it into hot water for winter. The result is a zero\u2011carbon energy profile that allows Limberlost Place to operate without fossil fuels. For George Brown College, the building is as much a teaching tool as it is infrastructure.  \u201cWe want to be at the forefront of technology,\u201d said Michelle McCollum, the college\u2019s Vice President for Facilities and Sustainability. She described the tower as \u201creally setting a bar for the community, and also as a living laboratory for our students to learn within the building.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The project has already earned significant international acclaim.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2022, it won the World Architecture Festival\u2019s WAFX Award for climate resilience, and it has since collected more than 18 architectural honours. Designed by Acton Ostry Architects and Moriyama Teshima Architects, with engineering support from Fast + Epp and Nordic Structures, the building topped out in August and now houses architecture, computer science and sustainability programs, along with the Brookfield Sustainability Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"_KN7Pnr-i90\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Learn About Limberlost Place - GBC\u2019s Mass-Timber Building\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_KN7Pnr-i90?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>In 2022, the 10-storey Limberlost Place secured the World Architecture Festival&#8217;s WAFX Award for tackling climate change and climate resilience. To date, it has won more than 20 different architectural prizes. Footage courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@georgebrowncollege\">@georgebrowncampus.<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For architect Russell Acton, the project\u2019s completion marked a moment of reflection. \u201cLimberlost Place\u2019s topping\u2011off celebration was a moment of reflection and honour for the forests from which the timber was harvested,\u201d he said. \u201cFuture generations of students, staff, children and community members \u2014 surrounded by the massive, exposed black spruce glulam columns and beams \u2014 will learn, collaborate and work in one of Toronto\u2019s most iconic and sustainable buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Standing on Toronto\u2019s eastern waterfront, Limberlost Place is designed to meet net\u2011zero carbon standards, achieve LEED Gold certification and exceed the Toronto Green Standard Tier 4. Its solar chimneys draw fresh air naturally through operable windows, while a steeply sloped roof is optimised for solar panels. The building\u2019s lighter-than-usual timber-concrete composite slabs also reduce the floor-to-floor height, a design innovation unique worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For more information, <a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/10-story-timber-building-uses-lake-for-deep-water-climate-control\/\">click here for Wood Central&#8217;s special feature from May<\/a>, days before George Brown University formally opened the new building.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A 10\u2011storey mass timber tower on Toronto\u2019s waterfront \u2014 the first building to use deep\u2011lake water for both heating and cooling \u2014 has been named Global Best Project of the Year by Engineering News\u2011Record, beating out 90 projects from 24 different countries. \u201cThis global recognition reflects the dedication of our people and partners to tackle [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31376,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"default","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[51,3,38,37,35,47,33,32,46,39,48,86,49,68,31],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[70],"class_list":{"0":"post-31375","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-americas","8":"category-architecture","9":"category-architecture-and-design","10":"category-building-and-construction","11":"category-case-studies","12":"category-commercial","13":"category-editors-picks","14":"category-global-news","15":"category-industry","16":"category-mass-timber","17":"category-mid-rise-construction","18":"category-motoring","19":"category-residential","20":"category-sector","21":"category-top-stories"},"authors":[{"term_id":70,"user_id":2,"is_guest":0,"slug":"jason","display_name":"Jason Ross","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/J-Ross-headshot.jpeg","url2x":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/J-Ross-headshot.jpeg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31375"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31384,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31375\/revisions\/31384"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31375"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=31375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}