flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Perkins+Will achieves first Living Building Challenge Certification with Vancouver visitors center

Green

Perkins+Will achieves first Living Building Challenge Certification with Vancouver visitors center

The VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre was recognized for its use of healthy building materials, on-site renewable resources, and filtered rainwater to meet greywater requirements.


By Perkins+Will | May 23, 2016
Perkins+Will achieves first Living Building Challenge Certification with Vancouver visitors center

Inspired by an orchid, the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre in Vancouver has curved walls and a floating roof. Image courtesy Perkins+Will. Click here to enlarge.

Perkins+Will announced that the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre received Living Building Challenge (LBC) Petal Certification by the International Living Future Institute.

The certification is the most advanced measurement of sustainability in the built environment and recognizes projects in performance categories called Petals. The VanDusen Visitor Centre achieved certification in the categories of Site, Materials, Health and Beauty.

Located in Vancouver, British Columbia, the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre was inspired by the form and natural systems of a native orchid. Representing undulating petals, the roof appears to float above the building’s curved walls and flows from a central oculus and into the surrounding landscape. A multi-disciplinary design team that included architects, engineers, landscape architects, and ecologists collaborated to integrate natural and human systems in order to restore and enhance the ecological integrity of the site.

The Visitor Centre achieved LEED Canada-NC 1.0 Platinum Certified by the Canada Green Building Council and was named “Most Sustainable Building of the Year” in 2014 by World Architecture News. The project’s many innovations include: the procurement of healthy building materials; the integration of on-site renewable resources, along with passive design strategies, to significantly reduce energy consumption; the use of filtered rainwater for the building’s greywater requirements; and the treatment of 100% of blackwater by an on-site bioreactor.

“Almost a decade ago the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation commissioned Perkins+Will to create a signature, green facility to serve as a model of sustainable building for the City of Vancouver, to reflect its goal of becoming the greenest city in the world by 2020, and to raise the profile of the garden, both locally and internationally,” says Danica Djurkovic, Director of Facilities Planning and Development, City of Vancouver. “I am proud to say this project has exceeded our expectations. Since its opening, the garden has experienced a 50% increase in visitors and revenue and the Visitor Centre has become one of the most iconic buildings in Vancouver and in Canada.”

The VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre is the first project in Vancouver to be Living Building Challenge Petal certified and is one of only a handful of projects registered in British Columbia.

The Building Team included: Perkins+Will (architect), Ledcor Construction (contractor), Fast + Epp (SE), Integral Group (ME, EE), and R.F. Binnie & Associates (CE).

Related Stories

Sustainable Design and Construction | Apr 9, 2019

One of the largest zero-carbon, net-zero buildings is rising in Spokane

Catalyst will be part of an innovation hub, with Eastern Washington University as its main tenant.

Codes and Standards | Apr 8, 2019

LEED v4.1 now available for cities, communities, residential/homes

The rating system emphasizes performance monitoring, fully integrated design, social equity, and human health.

Green | Apr 8, 2019

New USGBC research explores green building industry’s role in highlighting the importance of buildings as a global solution

First wave of research is part of the Living Standard initiative, which seeks to raise the quality of life for people around the world through research and storytelling.

Green | Jan 28, 2019

This is the country’s greenest academic building

Perkins+Will designed the building.

Green | Nov 15, 2018

USGBC launches LEED Zero, to address net zero carbon operations and resources in LEED green building projects

LEED Zero complements LEED to verify the achievement of net zero goals and signals market leadership in green buildings.  

Green | Oct 17, 2018

USGBC survey suggests employees are happier, healthier, and more productive in LEED green buildings

Can healthier, more sustainable buildings give employers a hiring edge to attract best in class talent?

Green | Oct 15, 2018

Green, and then some: Architecture firms are helping cities raise the stakes in green design

Architecture firms are answering the call of local governments and institutional clients for higher standards in green building design.

Green | Sep 11, 2018

Chicago becomes seventh city in the world to achieve LEED for Cities Platinum certification

It is the highest level of certification available from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Green | Aug 28, 2018

Chattanooga’s Miller Park set to open after $10.3 million overhaul

Spackman Mossop Michaels and Eskew Dumez Ripple partnered on the project.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Green

Global green building alliance releases guide for $35 trillion investment to achieve net zero, meet global energy transition goals

The international alliance of UK-based Building Research Establishment (BRE), the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Alliance HQE-GBC France developed the guide, Financing Transformation: A Guide to Green Building for Green Bonds and Green Loans, to strengthen global cooperation between the finance and real estate sectors.




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021