Canada's largest green roof is now habitat to a thriving ecosystem
The 6 acres (2.4 hectare) ‘living’ rooftop of the Vancouver Convention Centre (VCC) was awarded the GO GREEN certificate for ‘industry-approved, environmental best practices in building management’, and is also the largest non-industrial living roof in North America.
Located on the downtown waterfront, the West building was officially opened in April 2009. Since then it has tripled the capacity of the VCC, generating significant economic activity for the city and province. The integration of world-class facilities enabled the centre to compete on a global stage, attracting international conventions that they previously were unable to accommodate.
“The West building expansion provided us with the opportunity to set new standards in our commitment to environmental sustainability and to incorporate innovate ‘green’ features that are truly ‘unconventional’ for a convention facility”, says Jinny Wu, VCC’s Communication Manager.
The Vancouver Convention Centre’s West building expansion was designed by Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership, DA Architects & Planners, and LMN Architects, while the living roof was designed by PWL Partnership Landscape Architects.
Nowadays, the VCC houses an on-site water recycling plant processes the building's black water, a seawater heating and cooling system regulates the indoor atmosphere, and an ingeniously restored marine habitat which was incorporated into the foundation of the building completes the dimensions of what the VCC West ultimately stands for.
Wu continues: “We have demonstrated that sustainability efforts can be implemented on a very large scale, with the living roof as a prime example. The living roof has created a thriving ecosystem in the downtown core. The living roof also acts as an insulator, reducing heat gains in the summer and heat losses in the winter”.
And the impact is clear, new tour programmes cater towards the growing interest in the new facilities and green roof. The VCC called the project an innovation that links new ways of ecological and habitat management to the British Columbia urban landscape, and has so far been hailed as one of the greenest convention centres in the world.
Achievements since 2009:
· Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Platinum for West building – VCC is the only convention centre in the world to have earned the highest LEED rating
· Top Ten Green Projects awarded by the American Institute of Architects' Committee on the Environment (COTE) (2011)
· IMEX 2011 Green Supplier Award (silver)
· Professional Convention Management Association’s (PCMA) Environmental Leadership Award (2010)
· Sustainable Architecture & Building (SAB) magazine’s Canadian Green Building Awards (2010)
· Recycling Council of BC Environmental Award in the Public Sector Category (2010)
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