The LiUNA Local 183 Headquarters in Vaughan has received a 2026 Jeffrey L. Bruce Award of Excellence from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities in the Extensive Commercial/Industrial/Institutional category, recognizing the project’s integration of sustainable landscape strategies and living architecture.
Designed as the first phase of a larger campus for North America’s largest construction local union, the headquarters brings workplace, training, healthcare, wellness, assembly, and gathering spaces together in a single hub serving 70,000 members, establishing a new civic precinct in the City of Vaughan.
Landscape is central to the project’s architectural identity and environmental performance. Across the site, 153,000 sqft of soft landscaping, stepped green roofs, and landscaped terraces establish a relationship between architecture and nature.
Supported by green roof systems provided by ZinCo, these planted spaces help manage stormwater, reduce urban heat island effects, and introduce new habitat, while extending opportunities for gathering and connection to the outdoors. Views to the green roofs from classrooms and offices bring the landscape into the daily experience of members and staff, complemented by biophilic planting within the atrium.
The green roofs form part of a broader sustainability strategy that supports environmental performance and resource conservation. Landscape irrigation is supplied by cistern water, eliminating potable water use for irrigation, while supporting long-term health and resilience of the planted spaces.
As the first building within a larger campus, the LiUNA Local 183 Headquarters establishes an ecological and civic framework for future development, demonstrating how landscape can be integrated into architecture to support environmental resilience, occupant wellbeing and community connection.
The award was announced at the 2026 CitiesAlive conference in Brooklyn, New York, celebrating excellence in living architecture, green roof innovation, and sustainable urban design.
