PCL-built Limberlost Place named Global Best Project of the Year

Celebrated for its pioneering mass timber design and construction, commitment to safety and collaborative excellence, Limberlost Place – built by PCL Construction – was named the Global Best Project of the Year.

In addition to PCL and partners taking home the top honour, PCL was also awarded Engineering News-Record’s (ENR) Global Best Projects Award for Limberlost Place in the Education/Research category.

The awards celebrate innovative and influential construction projects worldwide, emphasizing innovations, teamwork, safety performance and how teams overcome design and construction challenges. A panel of industry leaders sorted through a robust slate of approximately 90 entries to select 32 projects in 24 different countries that demonstrated excellence in design and construction quality.

“This global recognition reflects the dedication of our people and partners to tackle complex challenges and deliver innovative, sustainable, and industry-leading solutions,” said Chris Gower, president and CEO. “We’re 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.”

Ontario’s first institutional building of its kind, George Brown Polytechnic’s Limberlost Place has set a new precedent for mass timber construction as a model for sustainable, green building innovation. Located in Toronto, the 10-story mass timber, net-zero educational facility integrates first-of-its-kind solutions including:

• Groundbreaking slab band structural system that advances the use of mass timber in multi-storey buildings.
• North America’s largest mass timber columns soaring three stories tall.
• A striking mass timber feature stair, spanning levels three to five as a centerpiece of architectural design.
• Zero-carbon energy achievement leveraging Enwave’s Deep Lake Cooling and Heating System to harness green energy from Lake Ontario.
• Two solar chimneys that create natural convection, continuously drawing fresh air through operable windows.
• A steeply sloped roof optimized for solar panels, oriented south for maximum energy capture.

Recognizing the project’s uniqueness, PCL’s Toronto team collaborated with mass timber experts from its Denver office throughout preconstruction and construction. Embracing a growth mindset, PCL’s in-house workforce completed specialized training from the local carpenters’ union, building local expertise in mass timber construction.

Featured image: Limberlost Place (CNW Group/PCL Construction)