Excitement and anticipation are beginning to ramp up as construction forges ahead on Limberlost Place, George Brown’s new 10-storey, mass-timber, net-carbon building, and the newest addition to the college’s Waterfront campus.
In addition to hosting the School of Architectural Studies and the School of Computer Technology, Limberlost Place will also be home to the new Brookfield Sustainability Institute (BSI). The BSI signals George Brown’s commitment to the environment and will work with community and industry partners to develop solutions to problems posed by climate change and explore tangible ways to develop sustainable communities.
At the helm of this innovation hub will be Dean Luigi Ferrara, who has been appointed the inaugural Chair and CEO of George Brown College’s Brookfield Sustainability Institute; Ferrara will also continue in his role as Dean, Centre for Arts Design and Technology.
“Luigi is uniquely positioned to lead this role as he is a graduate with distinction of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Toronto and has spent his entire career advocating and practicing interdisciplinary design, both in Canada and internationally, working on the relationship between architecture, urban design, sustainability, digital transformation, strategy and design thinking,” says Dr. Cory Ross, Provost, George Brown College.
“I am looking forward to working collaboratively with industry partners, government, international and local subject matter experts, George Brown employees, faculty and students to build this new centre of excellence which will position the college as a leader in the field of sustainability,” says Ferrara.
The BSI will focus on aligning the processes of digital transformation and sustainability for the benefit of communities everywhere becoming a beacon for “smart sustainability.” It will maintain an observatory of best practices and foster applied projects undertaken by collaborative working groups. Tangible solutions will be realized that can be prototyped and tested with municipal and private sector partners. To support this work, a new industry participatory learning model will be pioneered connecting industry and George Brown students to think and make solutions that tackle climate change impacts. This work will build on over 20 years of learnings from George Brown College’s already well-known and respected Institute without Boundaries.
Limberlost Place, scheduled to open in the summer of 2024, will be the first institutional building of its kind in Ontario and is located at the corner of Queens Quay East and Lower Sherbourne Street, just north of the Daphne Cockwell Centre for Health Sciences. To learn more about Limberlost Place and the Brookfield Sustainability Institute, visit: georgebrown.ca/limberlost
