Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources
Green Building
CIER
- The Building
The Building :
CIER was originally situated at The Forks in the Johnston Terminal. As the organization outgrew its space CIER had to find a new home. They also wanted to be able to customize their space in a way that demonstrated their philosophy. They moved into the historic Kay building at 245 McDermot Avenue in Winnipeg’s Exchange District in 1999.
The following questions were asked about each material being discussed during the design process:
1. Is the material / supply necessary?
2. Can it be obtained used?
3. What is it made of?
4. How is it made?
5. Where is it made?
6. How long will it last?
7. At the end of its useful life (to us) can it be reused, remanufactured, recycled?
There are many green features that have been incorporated into the building. The space was designed to maximize the use of natural daylight in the office. This decreases energy consumption and improves employee performance. With a simplistic design so as not to use unnecessary materials, colour and vibrant paints were important. All of the paints used are water based, alkalide free and EcoLogo certified. Half of the fixtures are compact fluorescent lighting. These halogen lights have only been changed once in the 5 years that CIER has been located in the Exchange District. Strawboard millwork and cupboards are locally produced in Elie, Manitoba with the waste straw from wheat fields. The carpets are interface tiles, meaning there are several pieces tightly fitted together for a seamless appearance. When the tiles in heavily trafficked areas become worn they can simply replace a few square feet of carpet instead of the entire floor. There is ceramic flooring made with 50% post-consumer glass in the washrooms and waterless composting toilets. There are also showers to encourage employees to commute by bicycle. Finally, food wastes are collected by a company who vermicomposts them.
CIER leases the top two floors of the Kay Building. The upper floor has a sacred space in the main room. It is used for various occasions from sharing circles, to smudging, to feasts. Its circular design has four entrances that face the four points of the compass. A tindall stone bench runs along the outside edge of the space with a smaller circle in the centre of it. There is a wreath of local cedar boughs suspended above this central circle. Many coloured ribbons hang from it. The colours represent the colours of CIER and those of the four major races.
