The Westmount Recreation Centre achieves LEED® Gold certification

WESTMOUNT, QC, March 3, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - The new Westmount Recreation Centre (WRC) – the world's first arena with underground ice rinks – has just been certified LEED^® Gold by the Canada Green Building Council*.

The unique underground design of the WRC was a major element in achieving this rating. Rejecting traditional arena design, the City of Westmount opted to place both ice rinks nearly 10 metres below ground, thereby exploiting the naturally-low (15ºC) year-round ambient temperature. This reduces the energy needed to heat and cool the building and maintain the ice rinks. By excavating down – rather than building up – the City gained an extra 1.5 acres of new park land right on top of the WRC. And, as opposed to a massive windowless shed stretching from St. Catherine Street to De Maisonneuve, building underground has opened up new vistas in the neighbourhood.

A number of other features contributed to the WRC's LEED-Gold status, including:

• a 95% diversion of demolition materials from landfill;
• the recovery of otherwise wasted heat generated by the ice refrigeration system is used to heat the inside of the building, the water supply, the swimming pool, and the snow-melt pits;
• an enlarged, fully-accessible outdoor swimming pool;
• the use of LED lighting for the ice rinks and the building;
• a landscaped stormwater pond and an underground water management system;

Result: while, at 8,300m² (90,000ft²), the new WRC is double the size of the 1958 arena it replaced, energy costs have been actually reduced.

"The fact the City of Westmount has pioneered a new way of building arenas, and that we succeeded in achieving LEED Gold certification in doing so, should be a source of pride for all Montrealers and Quebecers," said Westmount Mayor Peter F. Trent.

* The Canada Green Building Council, Canada's certification body for global LEED building standards, is a not-for-profit national organization that has been working since 2002 to advance green building and sustainable community development practices.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a rating recognized as the international mark of excellence for sustainable building in 150 countries. Certification is based on the total number of points earned for criteria in five categories: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

SOURCE City of Westmount

Media inquiries: Anne Renaud, 514 989-5240