Alberta Hospital Edmonton Greenhouse

Alberta Hospital Edmonton is a sprawling health complex located in northeast Edmonton. In March 2016, a fire destroyed the hospital’s greenhouse – home to its Horticultural Therapy Program which helps patients struggling with mental illness by putting them to work with flowers, produce and plants.
Having a solid working relationship with Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the insurance adjuster, JEN COL Construction was able to provide design options and budgeting on how to rebuild the greenhouse. Once these were finalized, JEN COL was awarded the construction management contract to build the new greenhouse which also included a support building and a sales area open to the public to purchase plants grown by patients of Alberta Hospital Edmonton.
JEN COL worked with the architect as well as a greenhouse consultant to design a building that is more functional and efficient than the original greenhouse, with less exterior walls and an open floor plan that provides better connectivity between spaces and users. About two-thirds of the floor area is dedicated to the greenhouse, including a secondary tropical greenhouse within.
Fun Fact: At the time of the fire, a banana tree (the only one in Alberta) survived the greenhouse blaze. JEN COL helped ensure the banana tree survived and could be transplanted to the new facility.