The Visitor Centre at the Vancouver Botanical Gardens is well on its way to becoming a Living Building, and while the term sounds a little like Science Fiction its definition is rooted in organics. The international challenge of the same name is a certification program that provides a framework for design and construction and is a symbiotic relationship between people and all aspects of the built environment. It goes well beyond the traditional LEED standard and is a philosophy and advocacy tool as much as it addresses development.
"We started designing the building to the Living Building Challenge criteria three years ago," says John Ross, Project Manager of the Planning and Operations Facility Development with the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. "The challenge is fairly new, there aren't that many certified buildings in North America."
There are in fact only four, though over 100 projects have been registered with the International Living Building Foundation. In order for the Visitor Centre to meet the LB criteria the building must achieve net zero energy and water consumption, which means that it needs to be almost entirely self-sufficient. To this end, the building currently employs a number of energy efficient systems, including a rain water cistern for toilet flushing, and onsite sewage disposal. As well as a solar hot water system on the roof, there is also a high-profile 11.52 kilowatt solar photovoltaic array on four custom pole mounts in the parking lot.
"I think it's great," says John of the PV system, designed and installed by local renewable energy services company Terratek Energy. "It's an interesting installation and gets people thinking of energy savings. It's a positive contribution to the project and will make a difference to the energy calculations."
What follows now is a comprehensive evaluation process, which will take place over the course of a year. Throughout this period careful records of energy use and generation will be kept and then evaluated based on a number of criteria to determine its LB certification. While energy is only one component of the process, John agrees it is an essential one, especially as the City of Vancouver's stated goal is to be the greenest city in the world by 2020. "It comes down to the fact that energy is a limited resource so renewable energy is very important. We don't have the best climate – we're not California – but I still think it's worth looking into and even in winter it can be productive."
In Canada, the Living Building Challenge is operated by the Canada Green Building Council in concert with the International Living Future Institute.