Great-West Life Daycare

KGS Group was retained by Prairie Architects to help turn the historic Milner House into a new childcare facility. To address the need for childcare within both the company and the community, Great-West Life initiated the adaptive re-use of the vacant 2-1/2 storey house.

KGS provided geotechnical, mechanical and electrical consulting services for the design, construction, and commissioning of the new daycare building which was designed with a highly sustainable approach. In fact, the facility achieved LEED platinum, the highest level of LEED certification possible. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Key sustainable features integrated into the facility's design include: energy efficient geothermal heating and cooling, LED lighting, water use reduction, displacement ventilation and low to zero emitting materials for healthy indoor air quality.

In addition to being LEED platinum certified, the Great-West Life daycare is a leader in a number of other respects:

• first designated heritage status building to be renovated into a child care facility in Manitoba
• Great-West Life's first LEED certified building in Manitoba
• second heritage building to be LEED certified in Manitoba
• one of the largest daycare facilities in Winnipeg