Manitoba Hydro Place has been named one of the AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects of 2010.

Manitoba Hydro Place introduces the next generation of sustainable, energy-efficient architecture developed under a formal Integrated Design Process. The design fuses time-tested principles such as massing, orientation, and exposed thermal mass with immediate digital analysis and computerized building management systems to create a climate-responsive design that relies on passive energy while delivering design excellence and, most importantly, fostering the wellbeing of employees.

Every part of the building relates to the whole. The signature capital 'A' comprises twin 18-story office towers set on a 3-story, street-scaled podium. The podium, bisected by the Public Galleria and clad in masonry to connect to the city's historic fabric, creates a sheltered route through the full city block. The towers converge at the building's north end to minimize north-facing surface area. To maximize solar and wind exposure, the towers splay open to the south, where they are clad in low-iron glazing to minimize the mass of the building in the urban context. The solar chimney is both essential to the passive ventilation strategy and for presenting the building as a new urban icon. The south-facing winter gardens feature 24-meter-tall waterfalls that humidify or dehumidify (depending on the season) incoming air and animate the space as kinetic sculpture.

For more information on the project, please visit: http://www.aiatopten.org/hpb/overview.cfm?ProjectID=1712