Vancouver Convention Centre West, Expansion
The Convention Center is designed to fully engage the urban ecosystem at the intersection of a vibrant downtown core and the natural ecosystems of its spectacular waterfront setting.
Recently submitted for certification as LEED Platinum, the project weaves together architecture, interior architecture, and urban design in a unified whole that functions as a living part of the city and harbor. Occupying a former brownfield on the downtown waterfront, the development is approximately 14 acres on land and 8 acres over water. It features 1 million square feet of convention space, 90,000 square feet of retail space, and 400,000 square feet of walkways, bikeways, public open space, and plazas.
The living roof – at 6 acres it is the largest in Canada, hosting some 400,000 indigenous plants and a colony of 60,000 bees. The roof’s sloping forms building on the topography of the region, creating a formal connection to nearby waterfront green and Stanley Park. The internal metabolism of the building draws many of its inputs from the site’s resident renewable resources. A seawater heat pump system, for example, takes advantage of the constant temperature of seawater to produce cooling for the building during warmer months and heating in cooler months. Backup heat is provided by steam. The facility also includes a water conservation and reuse strategy that includes grey water to reduce potable use by 60 to 70 percent over typical convention centers. The strategy includes a black water treatment plant and a desalinization plant on site.Biologically, the living matter of the roof forms the terminus of a chain of waterfront parks that rings the harbor and creates continuous habitat between the Convention Center and Stanley Park. Along the perimeter facing the water, an artificial concrete reef drops below the public way along the waterfront. The reef is designed in collaboration with marine biologists and consultants to function ecologically as part of the natural shoreline, supporting salmon, crabs, starfish, seaweed, and a variety of other resident marine species. Runnels built into the tide flats beneath the building create tidal zone habitats that flush daily.
