In a few short months, the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute (PGI) will open its doors to the public. One-hundred and nine years ago, back in the days of horse and buggy, the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute (formerly the Union Bank building) was western Canada’s first skyscraper. Today, it will be a state-of-the-art training facility and the College’s first student residence.

To meet the College’s commitment to sustainability, PGI is being built to achieve LEED certification.  Check out this video to see how PGI is reducing energy and conserving resources.

Whenever possible, the building’s original materials were retained and restored. The exterior facade, window frames, marble and hard wood floors and plaster walls are all more than 100 years old. Reusing these materials preserves a piece of history and reduces the environmental impacts from extracting, manufacturing and installing new materials.

Prior to renovations.

Student Residence

Cyclists will be will be happy to see that PGI has 35 secure, indoor bike racks.

A sustainable building is a lot more than how it’s constructed. We’re working hard to put programs and good practices in place to ensure PGI operates as sustainably as possible.

Some items in our PGI + Sustainability To Do list include:

– Implementing a post-consumer compost program

– Creating a “Green Residence Guide” to give our residents tools to reduce their impacts

– Developing a green building tour to showcase the building’s sustainable features.

See you at PGI!