Jennifer Geens
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 28/05) - Not only is the federal government's new Greenstone building not green, the stone in its walls was made in a factory.

A close-up of the Greenstone building's cultured face. - Jennifer Geens/NNSL photo

At least one Yellowknife resident finds some irony in the name which makes reference to building's environmental friendliness and the gold-bearing geological formation that surrounds Yellowknife.

Whistleblower Dave Nickerson sent a handwritten letter to Yellowknifer describing the building's facing as "phoney synthetic rock."

Anne Pratt, spokesperson for public works and government services, said the rock's trademark name is "cultured stone," a lightweight aggregate-cement mixture molded to resemble the real thing. Shipped ready-made from the factory, it comes in a variety of styles from "dressed fieldstone" to "country ledgestone" to "European castle."

Pratt said the product is less costly than the real thing, requires less labour and is more environmentally friendly because there is less waste.

The building's name was chosen late in the construction process, and had no influence on the design, she said.

Acting mayor Wendy Bisaro wasn't surprised to hear that the Greenstone's stones aren't authentic.

"Watching them put it up, I could see the thickness of whatever it was and I thought 'real rock is not like that,'" she said.

But she has no complaints about the facing, and thinks it's quite pretty.

There are some real, local rocks on site. A sample of greenstone is in the floor of the building, and the boulders outside come from the site of the North Slave Correctional Facility.