{"id":58959,"date":"2019-08-27T16:37:56","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T20:37:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=58959"},"modified":"2025-09-30T11:35:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T15:35:14","slug":"celebrating-smart-environments-building","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/celebrating-smart-environments-building\/","title":{"rendered":"Carleton Celebrates Sustainability Partners in New Smart Environments Building"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Carleton Celebrates Sustainability Partners in New Smart Environments Building\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Impactful partnerships and advances in sustainability were front and centre on Aug. 27, 2019 as a group of government, technology and higher education leaders came together at Carleton University for a preview of the new Smart Environments building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The morning reception in the 70,000-square-foot, five-floor building, in a room overlooking the Rideau River, was an opportunity for the university to celebrate the importance of collaboration and thank partners who have contributed to both the $29.5-million building and a $20.7-million upgrade for Carleton\u2019s nearby co-generation facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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President Benoit-Antoine Bacon, Rafik Goubran, Vice-President (Research and International) and MPP David Piccini<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a very exciting day for the university,\u201d said Carleton President Benoit-Antoine Bacon<\/a>. \u201cWe are showcasing two projects that demonstrate the importance of partnerships, of how we can work together for good.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThis beautiful building that we\u2019re in would not have been possible without the generous $13.45 million we received from the Government of Canada\u2019s Strategic Investment Fund. I can\u2019t overemphasize the importance of government support for research, science, innovation and sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The building \u2013 Advanced Research and Innovation in Smart Environments (ARISE) – is a hub specifically designed for multidisciplinary research partnerships with government and the private sector, Bacon explained after welcoming distinguished guests who attended the event, including MPP and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, David Piccini<\/a>, Capital Ward City Councillor Shawn Menard<\/a>, Algonquin College President Claude Brul\u00e9<\/a>, Universities Canada President Paul Davidson<\/a>, Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks President, Jean-Charles Fahmy<\/a>, and Guillaume Paradis, Hydro Ottawa\u2019s chief electricity distribution officer.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Carleton<\/figure>\n\n\n

A Space That is Accomodating to Multidisciplinary Research Teams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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All of the space on each floor will be fitted for the needs of multidisciplinary research teams in a custom-designed way, bringing together external partners with professors and students from all five Carleton faculties. Some of those potential partners \u2014 including Invest Ottawa, Mitacs, Mindbridge and Ciena \u2014 were represented at the preview reception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe collaborations that take place inside these walls will focus on research and training in clean tech, health tech, smart cities, information and communication technologies, the Internet of Things, accessibility, and water and energy conservation,\u201d said Bacon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Carleton<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe building will also be the headquarters of Carleton-led national networks such as the new Canadian Accessibly Network, of Efficiency Canada \u2014 a national voice for energy efficiency \u2014 and of the new Canadian Permafrost Research Network. With startup spaces to encourage the creation of businesses and creative spaces built to foster partnerships, we will leverage emerging technologies to create new networks that will improve the social, economic and environmental health of all Canadians.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Smart Environments building \u201cis an important milestone for Carleton,\u201d MP Catherine McKenna<\/a>, Canada\u2019s minister of Environment and Climate Change, said in a written statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis provides professors, students and their peers a new and welcoming environment with better opportunities to get hands-on experience in the technology sector. Carleton is a leading institution in economical and sustainable practices, and I congratulate you on this new chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Carleton<\/figure>\n\n\n

Glimpsing an Early Vision for Advances in Smart Environments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAs a research-intensive university, Carleton is proud of its many award-winning researchers,\u201d said Rafik Goubran<\/a>, the university\u2019s Vice-President (Research and International), who emceed the event.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cWe are very pleased to share a small glimpse into their early vision for advances in smart environments and accessibility research. Research teams will be moving in progressively over the course of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Goubran talked about the upgrades to the co-generation facility, which were possible thanks to $5 million in incentive funding from Hydro Ottawa<\/a> to lower load demand on the local hydro grid and $213,000 from the Ontario Strategic Investment Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Carleton
Guillaume Paradis, Chief Electricity Distribution Officer at Hydro Ottawa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The facility\u2019s new 4.6 megawatt natural gas-fired turbine will provide up to 40 per cent of electrical consumption on campus, and the combined heat and power (co-generation) technology will use natural gas to also produce steam that will provide cooling in summer and heating in winter.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI\u2019m especially proud that new instrumentation will feed live data to an engineering lab, giving Carleton students research opportunities in energy conservation and feeding into the academic mission of the university,\u201d said Bacon.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not only making our campus more sustainable, we\u2019re integrating research, education and sustainability as one, and that\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Carleton<\/figure>\n\n\n

Collaboration, Exploration and Experimentation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Goubran introduced Hydro Ottawa\u2019s Paradis, who noted the co-generation project received the largest single funding contribution from the utility\u2019s conversation programs in Ottawa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe future for us will involve partnerships,\u201d said Paradis, \u201cand Carleton has been an exemplary partner for us. Carleton is a true leader in responsible energy stewardship and an early adopter of innovative energy technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe must evolve the energy industry with our partners to develop new technology to support a resilient electricity grid, with a focus on sustainability and resilience to severe weather conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThis shows what\u2019s possible when we all work together toward a common goal,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cInnovation is not a theoretical thing when parties come together and collaborate. We can make things happen today. Our sustainable future is coming to life at Carleton.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Carleton
President Benoit-Antoine Bacon and Prof. Adrian Chan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Goubran also introduced Systems and Computer Engineering Prof. Adrian Chan<\/a>, director of Carleton\u2019s Research and Education in Accessibility, Design, and Innovation (READi<\/a>) training program and one of the architects of the university\u2019s new Canadian Accessibility Network<\/a>, which will move into the Smart Environments Building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis building will provide physical space for collaboration, exploration and experimentation,\u201d said Chan, noting Carleton\u2019s long history as a leader in accessibility research and student support, from the groundbreaking efforts of the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities<\/a> to the path to meaningful jobs provided by the David C. Onley Initiative for Employment and Enterprise Development<\/a>, as well as research conducted by faculty and students in fields ranging from engineering and policy to history and music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited,\u201d said Chan, \u201cand am looking forward to being part of this hub for impactful research and innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Carleton<\/figure>\n\n\n

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Impactful partnerships and advances in sustainability were front and centre on Aug. 27, 2019 as a group of government, technology and higher education leaders came together at Carleton University for a preview of the new Smart Environments building. The morning reception in the 70,000-square-foot, five-floor building, in a room overlooking the Rideau River, was an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":58966,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[28,13,31],"cu_story_tag":[1918,1929,1925],"class_list":["post-58959","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-community-partnerships","cu_story_type-research-discovery","cu_story_type-sustainability","cu_story_tag-faculty-of-engineering-and-design","cu_story_tag-president","cu_story_tag-research"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"blueprint"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/58959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/58959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97309,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/58959\/revisions\/97309"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=58959"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=58959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}