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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, divided 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 the 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.
Manitoba Hydro Place's low roof surfaces consist of planted green roofs which offer a number of benefits, additional insulation value, and protection from solar gain in the summer and heat loss in Winnipeg's long extreme winters. Green roofs can help alleviate the urban "heat island effect" by minimizing the heat absorption and effectively putting water back into the local environment. The green roof also provides 3 terraces for staff to utilize against the green roof surfaces.
When furnishing the terraces, special consideration was taken to find seating that is both durable and can be easily maintained for the extreme climate. All materials needed to be environmentally responsible and aesthetically fit with the building. Maglin was chosen by Manitoba Hydro to supply the furniture that is now installed on the terraces. The
MLPT1050RP Cluster Seating units,
MLB1050RP Benches and
MLWR400RP-20 Trash Containers were chosen because of their recycled content. The product frames are made from extruded steel which contains recycled materials and is fully recyclable. The slats are constructed using recycled plastic which can stand up to the extreme climate, will not absorb moisture, rot, splinter, or crack.
Manitoba Hydro Place has won many awards including the Exclusive Canadian recipient of the 2010 AIA/COTE Top Ten Award; 2009 CTBUH Best Tall Building Award - Americas; 2008 IBS Award, Highly Commended; 2006 MIPIM Architectural Review Awards - Commended for Innovation; and 2006 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence.
