November 25, 2025
The University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Health Sciences building has been recognized with the Best Small Project award at the 2025 Brownie Awards, an annual program celebrating excellence in brownfield redevelopment across Canada. The award highlights projects that demonstrate leadership in remediation, environmental stewardship, and urban regeneration.
Located in Ottawa’s Lees Avenue district, the new facility replaces a former brownfield site with a highly sustainable academic hub that now supports more than 4,000 students, faculty, and researchers. The building brings together the School of Nutrition Sciences, School of Nursing, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, and Human Kinetics under one roof, creating a collaborative and modern learning environment.
Achieving LEED Platinum certification, the project features a high-performance building envelope, advanced mechanical systems, and strategies that significantly reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions while improving indoor environmental quality. The building also restores the site to active community use, supporting the university’s long-term vision for a more connected, resilient, and sustainable campus.
Architecture49 led the design, working alongside PCL Constructors Canada Inc. and WSP Canada. Together, the team translated a complex set of academic, environmental, and site requirements into a facility that is both technically sophisticated and purpose-driven.
The project reflects what can be achieved when sustainability and public-purpose design work in tandem. The recognition at this year’s Brownie Awards underscores the team’s collective effort to create a building that supports long-term environmental performance while serving the needs of students, faculty, and the surrounding community.
The Brownie Awards are presented annually by the Canadian Brownfields Network to celebrate leadership, innovation, and excellence in the built environment.
