For immediate release
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, September 8, 2006 – The Honourable Michael M Fortier, Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), today announced that the Government of Canada energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly office building located at 401 Burrard in downtown Vancouver will be named in honour of former Cabinet Minister Howard Charles Green. This building, designed to the highest of “green“ standards, reinforces the new Conservative government’s commitment to “greening“ government operations.
“Canada’s New Government is working to ensure new government buildings across Canada – and here in Vancouver – are updated to be environmentally friendly and energy-efficient,” said Minister Fortier. “And it is with great pleasure to dedicate and name this Vancouver building in honour of Howard Charles Green.”
Considered one of the greenest federal building’s in the Public Works inventory, the building incorporates green technologies that reduce the overall impact on the environment. Among other things, floors and walls were finished with natural materials like cork and sealed concrete, to enhance indoor air quality. Also, certain floors are equipped with an energy-efficient lighting system that uses up to 60 percent fewer light fixtures and saves up to 80 percent in lighting energy costs.
A dedication ceremony was held at 401 Burrard, naming the office building in honour of Howard Charles Green, a former Cabinet Minister during the Diefenbaker era. “Howard Green exemplifies the notion of service to one’s country,” said the Minister.
One of Canada's most distinguished statesmen, the Honourable Howard Charles Green P.C. was elected seven times as Member of Parliament for Vancouver South and later Vancouver Quadra. Howard Charles Green held the portfolios of Public Works, Defence Production, and Secretary of State for External Affairs from 1957 until 1963.
Howard Green's service to his country began in World War One, when he served overseas with the 54th Kootenay Battalion from 1915 to 1918. Howard Green was mentioned in Military Dispatches and discharged as a Staff Captain in 1919.
Howard Green was a strong advocate of nuclear disarmament. Under his leadership, Canada became a member of the 10-nation Committee on Disarmament reporting to the United Nations. In 1962, John Diefenbaker referred to Howard Green as “one of the greatest leaders in the field of disarmament and world peace” and someone who had achieved for Canada “an undisputed place in the field of international affairs and the pursuit of peace for all mankind.”
Ms. Donna Green, Howard Green’s grand daughter, who lives in Vancouver, attended the ceremony. ” My grandfather played many roles: a soldier, a lawyer, a statesman and a gentle compassionate human being,” she said. “ I am so proud that this Government of Canada building is named in his honour.”
The Howard Charles Green building is located at the corner of Burrard and Pender, (401 Burrard). The 19-storey office tower is a new generation of commercial office building that enhances tenant comfort and productivity while minimizing the building’s lifetime economic and environmental costs. Environment Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans are the two principal tenants of the building.
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For further information, please contact:
Jean-Luc Benoît
Director of Communications
Office of Minister Fortier
819-997-5421
Media Relations
Public Works and Government Services Canada
819-956-2315
PWGSC news releases are also available on our Internet site at www.pwgsc.gc.ca/text/generic/media-e.html
Facts about 401 Burrard, Vancouver
The new Government of Canada building is located at 401 Burrard in downtown Vancouver and currently accommodates 965 employees from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Environment Canada.
The Government of Canada building represents a transition in the fundamental way that Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) designs, constructs and operates its buildings. The 19-storey (18,615 m2 rentable) office tower is a new generation of commercial office building that enhances tenant comfort and productivity while minimizing the building's lifetime economic and environmental costs.
The office tower utilizes proven building technologies with sound track records, ensuring that the taxpayer's environmental and economic interests are balanced.
Base building construction at 401 Burrard Street began on July 17, 2000 and was completed by Canada Lands Company in April 2002, at which time PWGSC purchased the building and land for $58 million and proceeded with fit-up the space.
For the fit-up of 401 Burrard, PWGSC formed a project team that worked in an integrated fashion with the future tenants of the building, Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Environment Canada, and the current facility manager, ProFac.
The 401 Burrard fit-up project team was encouraged to think in terms of sustainability and was tasked to create an office environment that provided a healthier and more productive work environment.
The task was realized through the use of progressive office design strategies and the incorporation of materials that minimized environmental impact and enhanced the indoor environment. For example, granite was recovered from the building that previously occupied the site and incorporated into the plaza, mezzanine, and elevator lobby areas.
Indoor air quality was a major consideration. The air supply is designed to provide approximately six air exchanges per hour. This rate exceeds the American Society of Heating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standard by 74 percent.
To further enhance indoor air quality, PWGSC chose natural materials for floor and wall finishes. These include cork, bamboo, natural rubber and linoleum plus sealed concrete and wall coverings.
A locally manufactured energy-efficient lighting system, called Ledalite Ergolight, is demonstrated on the tenth floor. It uses up to 60 percent fewer light fixtures and saves up to 80 percent in lighting energy costs.
Some of the other features of the building include shared common facilities such as lunch rooms, a fitness centre, bicycle storage, and an ambitious recycling program. This program is unique in that it includes the collection of organic materials (i.e. food scraps and paper towels) for processing at a local bio-recovery plant.
The tenants began moving into the building in the winter of 2002, continuing into spring 2003. A green team, comprised of PWGSC and the facility manager (ProFac), continues to maintain and operate the building in a sustainable manner.
401 Burrard is within five minutes walking distance of the West Coat Express rail service, the Sea Bus, Skytrain, as well as the seaplane and Helijet helicopter terminals. The RAV (Richmond-Airport- Vancouver) connector, expected to be completed in 2008, will also be within five minutes walking distance.
