FortWhyte’s visitor centre recognized with award for sustainable construction

FortWhyte Alive’s new Buffalo Crossing visitor centre has thundered past nearly 1,000 submissions to win the prestigious Holcim Foundation Awards.

Opened in April, the 18,000-square-foot facility strong on mass timber and reclaimed materials is one of 20 designs across the world recognized by the awards for sustainable construction.

Elegantly evoking a stampede of buffalo moving across FortWhyte’s 660 acres of tall-grass and bison prairie toward Muir Lake, the visitor centre means that FortWhyte now has two facilities to accommodate ever growing demand for its programming.

FortWhyte also has $40,000 coming its way, with another possible $40,000 if it’s selected by the Holcim Foundation as the grand prize winner for North America.

The awards celebrate spaces “that embody values (and) reflect the kind of future we want to live in,” said Liz Wilson, FortWhyte CEO and board president, at a press conference Tuesday.

“That’s why this award means so much to us — because Buffalo Crossing was always much more than just a building.”

The new facility, the full name of which is the FortWhyte Alive Buffalo Crossing Paul Albrechtsen visitor centre, is Manitoba’s very first commercial building to attain the coveted passive house standard, according to Ian Barnett, vice-president at FortWhyte Alive.

This means, among other things, it uses up to 90 per cent less energy than conventional buildings, constructed according to the National Energy Code.

What energy it does burn includes minimal greenhouse gases, with Buffalo Crossing having zero net carbon emissions over a year of operation, as recognized by Canada Green Building Council.

While the centre is a feather in FortWhyte’s cap, Barnett says this is all part and parcel of its mandate.

“Our mission is to create awareness and connections to the natural world, and that hopefully leads to day-to-day actions in people’s lives that lead to more sustainable living choices,” he says.

“And obviously we want to blend in and be complementary to the natural surroundings that we have here as well.”

From birdwatching, canoeing, cross-country, hiking and cycling to summer camps and educational presentations, FortWhyte offers a refuge from urban life within city limits, and is also a popular rental facility, Barnett says, adding Buffalo Crossing serves growing demand for such programming.

“We felt the need to expand … to accommodate the growth that we’ve seen over the last 10 years or so, and especially during the pandemic, when people really wanted to get outside,” he says.

The Buffalo Crossing visitor centre — which was developed through $12.4 million in federal funding, $3.37 million in provincial funding, with additional support from private and corporate sponsors — is part of FortWhyte’s ongoing Your True Nature drive. The $40-million capital campaign includes six planned initiatives.

conrad.sweatman@freepress.mb.ca