Sustainable building design through passive measures

To achieve Passive House certification with outdoor temperatures ranging from -40ºC [winter] to +40ºC [summer], Buffalo Crossing rigorously applied passive design principles. Triangular in plan, the visitor centre is oriented to maximize solar exposure to the south, while minimizing heat loss to the north and opening up views across the lakes to the northwest, maximizing transparency and site connection, balancing heat loss with solar gains. The building form projects out at the second level providing shade to maintain transparency in concert with large sliding perforated screens above. Thermal comfort is provided by continuous high quantity/quality thermal insulation, while Mass Timber floors, roof, and walls provide thermal mass and biophilia.

Efficient construction and operations

Designed to achieve Passive House Certification, Buffalo Crossing achieves CaGBC’s Zero Carbon Building Design Standard employing FSC certified wood in an all-Mass Timber building (GLT columns and beams, CLT floors, roof, walls, and cores) and veneer plywood interiors, together with low-carbon concrete foundations, structural slab, and toppings. A 1.2m building module is rigorously applied across the project reducing material waste. A compact central service core discreetly hosts and conceals active systems reducing duct and pipe runs while exposing the Mass Timber. The HVAC system includes a ground-source heat pump, energy recovery ventilator, and active slab (in-floor) heating and cooling, further reducing energy demands and operational carbon emissions.

Landscape & Biodiversity Integration

Located on a pit lake reclaimed from a clay and gravel mine on the southwest edge of the city, Buffalo Crossing is situated between a bustling motorway and Lake Muir's south shore on FortWhyte Alive’s 660-acre nature preserve. The naturally restored Aspen and Oak Prairie Savanna is home to a wide range of flora and fauna. The landscape approach prioritizes climate resiliency and regenerative management. Native plants are celebrated in the Indigenous Garden and re-introduced across the site. Bioswales, planted with 42 species of grasses, perennials, shrubs, and trees, capture stormwater from paved areas, enhancing biodiversity and filtering run-off before it enters the lake. Strategically placed trees mitigate heat island effects and support passive cooling.

Land use & Transformation

Located on traditional indigenous lands when buffalo roamed free, the site was developed by the Pacific Railway (1888), then a Cement Company (1912), whose pit lakes were reclaimed in 1955 establishing FortWhyte Waterfowl Sanctuary. Over the next 65 years, as FortWhyte expanded, it became an adventure site for elementary and forest school programs on the edge of this naturalized urban oasis and the city, with limited public access. Buffalo Crossing will provide a new public gateway to FortWhyte Alive’s land-based recreation and environmental education programs including revenue-generating café, nature gift shop, and event space for this non-profit, while providing better connection to the city and more sustainable access via a new public transit stop.

Participatory Design

Located on the traditional lands of the Ojibway, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dene, and Dakota peoples and the National homeland of the Red River Métis Nation, the design was developed with and through the guidance of an Indigenous advisor with input from local Indigenous and Métis Nations who may be affected by the site, land, planning, and use including a Ceremony of Land and Culture. Together with engagement from educators, staff, volunteers, board, and members, Buffalo Crossing reflects FortWhyte Alive’s commitment to reconciliation, environmental stewardship, climate resilience, and sustainability. The site and visitor centre provide opportunities to learn and grow through Indigenous knowledge and ceremony, connection to land, and inspiring sustainable design.

Community Impact and Resilience

Buffalo Crossing demonstrates how to build resiliently in extreme climates (-40ºC winter to +40ºC summer), providing and encouraging affordable sustainable means of accessing FortWhyte, arrival by foot, bicycle, or public transit = free admission, and increased opportunities for environmental recreation and sustainable education promoting understanding and inspiring actions leading to sustainable living. The building does this by employing passive design, compact form, solar harvesting (winter), solar shading (summer), and geothermal heat pump with energy recovery, in an all-Mass Timber building that accounts for projected climate change for the next century+, achieving CaGBC’s Zero Carbon Building Design Standard and Passive House certification.

Financial Feasibility

Buffalo Crossing has been designed, and construction procured, through the pandemic presenting challenges. While construction costs today appear reasonable for the quality and performance, they are considerably higher than anticipated prior to design. Raising capital for a non-profit can be challenging but not as challenging as funding ongoing maintenance, operations, and programming. Financed through private community benefactors and donations together with Canada’s Green and Inclusive Community Building Grant, Buffalo Crossing is designed for climate change and resilience, to achieve Passive House certification, requiring approximately 90% less energy to operate while providing a café, nature gift shop, and event space to generate revenue and sustainable operations.

Aesthetic Qualities and Cultural Integration

Designed to inspire actions leading to a sustainable future, Buffalo Crossing celebrates FortWhyte’s past and future. Visitors are greeted with art evoking once freely roaming buffalo and welcomed in traditional languages of local First Nations and Métis peoples. Outside an Indigenous garden, ceremony and sharing spaces are paired with a star blanket floor pattern defining ceremony, smudging, and storytelling space inside. Foundations of the original Waterfowl Sanctuary are preserved on the edge of reclaimed pit lakes within a naturalized setting including living exhibits and interpretation. The compact triangular all-Mass Timber structure, softened by rounded corners, passively oriented, offers increased transparency, views, and connection to the land.