Northern Lakes College

The new High Prairie Campus at Northern Lakes College is a state-of-the-art facility that addresses future growth plans while meeting workforce demand in the region. It serves as a hub for several northern communities by filling a need for post-secondary infrastructure in the area. 

The two-storey glulam structure uses natural, locally sourced materials and features a high-performance envelope. The new campus includes a staff lounge, offices, classrooms, meeting rooms, trade labs, and a student lounge. The facility provides access to trades and health sciences laboratories for post-secondary students studying at smaller campuses. The building features 33 individual learning suites, 12 classrooms, and a health programs lab with space for up to eight beds. The facility's open/exposed walls for electrical and geothermal components serve as a teaching tool for students. The facility was designed with accessibility in mind to limit barriers, and special attention has been given to female students and First Nations’ communities. 

The building is designed to be Net Zero, utilizing a ground source heat pump – geothermal energy system of 35 boreholes, a distributed ground source water-to-air heat pump system, and a 360kW photovoltaic panel array. The envelope is designed to optimize the trade-off between the high-performance fiberglass curtain wall and the high-performance wall assembly to reduce energy demand, with a targeted annual energy demand of 360MWh per year. Due to all the sustainable measures followed and locally-sourced materials incorporated the project has received LEED Silver Certification.