The VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre

Taking a cue from nature

The building’s materiality was designed to create a sense of belonging with the environment. “We wanted visitors to understand the materials, and for them to be familiar to the users. All materials were sourced from the local environment, giving the appearance that the building appears to be grown from the earth itself, simply another plant in the garden.”

The roof not only has the appearance of a petal but also behaves like one. The solar thermal panels mounted on the roof harnesses the energy of the sun and the roof sections beneath them scupper rain water to recharge a natural stream. The green roof sections encourage flora and fauna to extend onto it, changing with the seasons.

The solar chimney serves as lungs to the building while also contributing to the buildings unique, iconic and memorable character. Located in the centre of the atrium, and exactly at the centre of all the building’s various radiating geometry, the solar chimney highlights the role of sustainability by form and function. Natural ventilation is assisted by the solar chimney, composed of a 13.5 metre-high glazed oculus with motorized vents and a perforated aluminum heatsink, which converts the sun’s rays to convection energy. The heatsink is painted with a pattern that is based on the sun path. This maximizes heat gain to encourage air movement due to temperature differentials in the building. As the heat sink heats up, the air flow in the building increases in response. The heat sink is sculpturally derived to precisely mimic the tracking angles of the sun. This system eliminates the need for a more energy intensive mechanical system to ventilate the building.

The raw aesthetic describes this intent; an intentionally reductionist approach to limit the use of finishes, ensure local procurement, and simplify maintenance while bringing clarity to the reading of the architecture.

In addition, the building is net-zero energy and net-zero water, meaning that it produces enough energy on an annual basis to meet its requirements, and it cleans all the water it uses to a potable standard and returns it back to the water table. “We think the building reflects a purely contextual, regional and environmental response, and we are thrilled that its performance has been validated and recognized by LEED Platinum certification.”

LEED certification essential for benchmarking

For the project team, LEED is an exceptionally valuable tool to benchmark building performance and ensure accountability for design and construction decisions. “It keeps owners, designers, construction professionals and building users on track with respect to their commitments to sustainable design. There were many moments during the design, construction and certification of the VanDusen Visitor Centre project that the LEED rating system acted as a kind of quality assurance method. We think this is especially valuable.” The City of Vancouver rely on LEED as a third party that is recognized throughout North America and it also “helps increase the likelihood a building aligns with the City of Vancouver’s 2020 Greenest City Goals.”

The team is particularly proud of earning an Innovation in Design credit for Biophilic Design. “It is always difficult to quantify environmental benefits of qualitative or subjective things that are difficult to measure. Earning credit for a biophilia through LEED recognizes the tremendous value this considered approach can offer our built environment, human experience and ecological systems; we appreciate that the LEED rating system is evolving to account for that.”

LEED SCORE CARD