As North American contractor Graham celebrates 100 years in business, CIOB members visited the award-winning Lawson Centre for Sustainability, which Graham is building at the University of Toronto. Rod Sweet reports
CIOB Americas helped North American contractor Graham mark its 100th anniversary this spring when a group of CIOB Toronto Hub members visited two important projects the contractor is delivering in Canada’s largest city, Toronto.
Sereena Kang, CIOB Americas regional manager, said the visits – to the new Lawson Centre for Sustainability at Trinity College, University of Toronto and the Yee Hong Ng Siu Chan Centre, a long-term care home commissioned by Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care – offered a stimulating day out for Greater Toronto Area construction professionals.
Graham is celebrating its journey from its founding in 1926, when it was a small, family-owned business working on the Saskatchewan railway, to Graham today – a CAN$4bn-plus (£2.14bn-plus) employee-owned built-environment enterprise with 3,000 employees, five divisions and more than 500 live projects around North America including complex buildings, infrastructure and industrial projects.
The Lawson Centre for Sustainability, due to open in the autumn of Graham’s centenary year, is a fitting milestone as it sets a new standard for sustainable design and architecture at the University of Toronto. It will be the home-base for Trinity’s Integrated Sustainability Initiative which provides students with state-of-the-art areas for research and experiential learning.
“The project uses a hybrid mass timber structure to reduce embodied carbon”
The four-storey hybrid mass-timber, steel and concrete structure clad in local brick and limestone was designed by the local office of RDHA in collaboration with Dutch signature studio Mecanoo Architecten.
The 165,000-sq-ft facility provides 339 student residence spaces along with academic, community and dining areas.
There will be flexible study and workspaces, classrooms, lecture rooms, and common areas with views of surrounding gardens and green roofs. Food services feature a full-service dining hall, an industrial kitchen, and a community kitchen. The George and Martha Butterfield Rooftop Farm supports campus food programmes and community partnerships.
Outdoor spaces include two courtyards and a reintegrated North Field, creating green areas for recreation and campus activities.
Sustainability features
The centre is targeting LEED® Platinum and Zero Carbon Building certification.
For energy efficiency, temperature will be controlled through geothermal heating and cooling and chilled beams, with rooftop solar panels contributing energy. The building has a high-performance envelope, all-electric kitchens and water-efficient fixtures with grey water reuse.
Green roofs planted with native species and an underground cistern to collect rainwater will help with sustainable water management.
Although not yet open, the building has already won international accolades for sustainable design, including: Silver, Future Projects, in the 2026 World Architecture News Awards; the 2025 Holcim Foundation Award for Best Practice in Sustainable Design, and it was named by ArchDaily as one of the world’s 20 most anticipated projects for 2026.
“What stands out most about the Lawson Centre is the way multiple low-carbon strategies are integrated into a single building,” said Graham project manager Ryan Macklin MCIOB.
“The project uses a hybrid mass timber structure to reduce embodied carbon, supported by geothermal heating and cooling, rooftop solar PV panels, and rainwater harvesting systems.
“It also incorporates a high-performance building envelope to minimise energy demand. The extensive green roofs and rooftop urban farm are key features, contributing to stormwater management, on-site food production, and improved thermal performance.
‘Reminded me why I love this industry’
Then it was north-east to the Scarborough district of Toronto, where Graham is building the Ng Siu Chan Centre for long-term care.
Owned and operated by Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care, the new five-storey, 225,560-sq-ft building will be home to 224 people. Groundbreaking took place in November 2023, and the centre is on track for completion in summer 2026. Once operational, it will offer a full spectrum of culturally-appropriate services including 24-hour nursing care and adult day-programme services.
The building includes one floor of underground parking and a below-grade link to the adjacent Yee Hong Finch Centre.
CIOB’s Sereena Kang noted that the design was informed by the lessons and best practices learned over the Covid pandemic.
One Toronto Hub member, Omar Rashed MCIOB, said: “Walking through an active site – seeing a future home for around 200 older adults take shape in real time – was both humbling and energising. It reminded me why I love this industry. Behind every structural decision is a real human purpose.”
The Ng Siu Chan Care Centre adds to Graham’s portfolio of long-term care projects in Ontario. Graham, meanwhile, has delivered over 300 hospital and medical facility projects across Western Canada and Northwestern US.
Commenting on the big anniversay, Graham president and chief executive Andy Trewick said: “Reaching 100 years is something only a small number of companies ever get to do. It reflects generations of resilience, progress and a legacy of people who have shown up with purpose, had pride in quality work and stood confidently behind what they build. Which is what we still do every day.”
