Combo of apartments, library, community centre aims for LEED Gold

The Mount Pleasant Centre sets a precedent, being the first truly multi-service community centre in Vancouver. The integrated program came about through the choice of site. Reviewing its options for the replacement of an aging community centre on the south edge of the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, the Vancouver Park Board began to look for a more central location.

By Jim Taggart

(more…)

New rating systems will change our ways

Green roof of the Burnside Gorge community Centre controls stormwater runoff as part of a landscaping strategy that contributes points to LEED Gold certification.

We think of the landscape as green by default. In reality, it is challenging to achieve this goal in urban areas where requirements are imposed by market expectations, municipal requirements, and a range of other factors.
At the same time, green building rating systems are beginning to demonstrate their power to transform both the market and the regulatory context, and are offering opportunities for landscape architects, engineers, and other designers to apply a variety of new approaches to site development. (more…)

Earth walls dissolve building into landscape using rammedearth

The design of Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre is a specific and sustainable response to the building’s unique context-the unusual Canadian desert found in the South Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. Sited adjacent to a remnant of the Great Basin Desert, of which 1,600 acres are being preserved by the Osoyoos band as a conservation area, this interpretative centre is part of a larger 200-acre master plan. (more…)

Thoughtful green restoration achieves LEED Platinum

The roof garden on the new third-storey addition is irrigated through grey water recovery

With a 65sq.m addition on the roof, and the excavation of the 74sq.m basement, the owner/builder, a green building consultant, almost doubled the floor area of this two- storey, semi-derelict 1907 property, converting it into a contemporary triplex that now houses three generations of his family within this single green restoration project. (more…)

Quebec LEED project hails government direction in sustainability

The south-west elevation showing the extent of the green roof, the rooftop light scoops, and diagonal louvers. The project is being evaluated by the Canada Green Building Council for a LEED Gold Certification

The Normand Maurice building is a 15,000sq.m facility housing office headquarters, warehouse and armoury storage for the Department of National Defence [DND] and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police [RCMP], Canada Customs, and several other public bodies. (more…)

A sustainable response integrates culture and landscape

View along the rammed earth entry wall, an attractive and durable construction with excellent thermal qualities. Note the section of Cor-ten steel at the location of the service yard.

The design of Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre is a specific and sustainable response to the building’s unique context - the unusual Canadian desert found in the South Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. Sited adjacent to a remnant of the Great Basin Desert, of which 1,600 acres are being preserved by the Osoyoos band as a conservation area, this interpretative centre is part of a larger 200-acre master plan. (more…)

Sustainability increases productivity in Phase II campus expansion

Environmentally Responsible Design

The complete campus, with Phase II located to the left of the soccer field.

..
Electronic Arts [EA], a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software, began the development of its corporate campus in Burnaby, BC about 10 years ago. From the outset, the company was interested in working within the broad parameters of environmentally responsible design, and in providing a work environment that would ensure the well being of its employees. (more…)

State-of-the-art training centre balances active and passive technologies

The East elevation where vehicle bays and bermed earth act as thermal buffers and reduce perimeter wall exposure

When the Greater Toronto Airport Authority [GTAA] chose to pursue LEED™ Silver certification for the first time on its new Fire and Emergency Services Training Institute [FESTI], it signified a new sense of commitment to sustainable building technology and a willingness to be held accountable to the rigorous design guidelines and third-party certification of the LEED™ process. (more…)

LEED Silver pavilion furthers mission of environmental stewardship

The dramatic lantern effect at night reveals the steel frame sculptural form

The Toronto Botanical Garden [TBG] is a charitable organization whose purpose is to inspire passion, respect and understanding of gardening, horticulture, the natural landscape and a healthy environment. (more…)