Vancouver | Convention Center | Varios

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Situated on Vancouver’s waterfront with spectacular views of mountains, ocean, and parks, the Vancouver Convention Centre West is designed to bring together the natural ecology, vibrant local culture, and built environment, accentuating their interrelationships through the architecture. Opened in April 2009, the Convention Centre West expansion facility triples the total square footage and functional capacity as well as completes the development of the public realm on the waterfront.

Seattle-based LMN Architects, in collaboration with Vancouver-based Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership and DA Architects & Planners, designed the Vancouver Convention Centre West as a compelling vision of what a civic building can be"a celebration of people and place and a model of sustainability. One of the greenest convention centers in the world, the project is in on track to achieve LEED® Canada Gold certification.

In 2010, the Vancouver Convention Centre West will serve as the broadcast and media center for the XXI
Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games. Housing the more than 7,000 media who will be broadcasting live
to millions of viewers across the globe, the new facility will be a powerful visual ambassador of the Pacific
Northwest region’s commitment to sustainability.

Project Details

Completed
April 2009

Project Cost
$883,200,000 (CAN) (This figure includes new West facility, renovations to existing East facility and associated
infrastructure improvements to the waterfront.)

Project Leadership
BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a Crown Corporation of British Columbia

Project Size
1.2 million square feet

Project Program
• 223,000 square feet of exhibition hall
• 60,000 square feet of meeting rooms
• 55,000 square feet of ballroom
• 95,000 square feet of retail space
• 400,000 square feet of walkways, bikeways, public open space and plazas

VANCOU VER CONVENTION CENTRE WEST LMN Architects + DA/MCM Project Details
Sustainability Features
• Targeting LEED® Canada Gold
• Six-acre living roof, the largest in Canada and the largest non-industrial living roof in North America
• Shoreline and marine habitat restoration
• Water conservation and reuse system that features black water treatment and desalinization
• Seawater heat pump system for cooling and heating
• Energy efficient lighting fixtures
• Advanced energy management systems
• Natural ventilation
• Extensive use of controlled daylighting
• Local materials including locally harvested Douglas fir and Hemlock wood finishes
• Radiant floor cooling and heating
• Natural ventilation in west prefunction rooms
VANCOU VER CONVENTION CENTRE WEST LMN Architects + DA/MCM DESI GN NARRATI VE
Vancouver, British Columbia is a sophisticated, multicultural metropolis renowned for its spectacular natural
setting of mountains, water, and park spaces and lively urban core. The nexus of these diverse elements"the
natural ecology of the waterfront, vibrant city culture, and urban built environment is embodied in the design for
the new Vancouver Convention Centre West.


Ecology
The Vancouver Convention Centre West is a functional integration of the natural and urban environments"the
natural ecology of the waterfront with the human activities within the facility. The building expression is created by
intersecting the convention center functions with forms that are folding, sliding, and rising up from the waterfront
and adjacent public park. Distinctive features include:

• A six-acre living roof that is the largest green roof in Canada.
?? The living roof is landscaped with more than 400,000 indigenous plants and grasses, providing natural
habitat to birds, bees, butterflies, insects and small mammals.
?? There are four hives on the roof that each house 60,000 bees.

• An underwater habitat skirt or artificial reef that is part of the centre’s foundation is providing new
habitat for barnacles, mussels, seaweed, starfish, crabs and various fish species.
?? The marine habitat skirt (five-tiered underwater structure) is part of the restoration plans for 200 feet of
shoreline and 1,500 feet of marine habitat.

• An innovative water conservation and reuse strategy that is projected to reduce potable water use
60 to 70 percent over typical convention centers. The system features:
?? Black water treatment, which processes the building’s sewage water to provide about 80 percent of the gray water needs (toilet flushing and irrigation of the living roof).
?? A desalinization plant to supplement additional non-potable water requirements.
• A sea water heat pump system to produce cooling during warmer months and heating for the building in cooler months.
• Extensive daylighting through an ultra clear structural glass system surrounding the building.
• Local materials are used throughout, including Hemlock clad walls and Douglas fir slat ceilings.
• Natural ventilation in the west pre-function spaces. VANCOUVER CONVENTION CENTRE WEST LMN Architects + DA/
Culture
From the city’s sustainability commitment to its vibrant urban character, the essence of the surrounding
community is embedded in the architectural design in several important ways, which include:
• The design visually links to Vancouver’s harbor greenbelt and Stanley Park at the city’s western tip.
• Over 130,000 square feet of new walkway/bikeway connects across the site, extending Vancouver’s
waterfront and enhancing the public’s access to the water’s edge.
• More than 120,000 square feet of new public plazas, festival spaces and informal gathering areas.
• The project also provides for future development of marine-based activities (float plane
terminal and private marina).
• Wood block from locally harvested Hemlock is a predominant interior finish. Douglas Fir slats
comprise the ceiling.

Urban Core
The design of the Vancouver Convention Centre West knits with the downtown core, contributing to the evolution
of the community’s culture and evoking a unique experience of place through the architecture. The design
integrates the site’s urban surroundings in the following ways:
• The building is designed as an extension of the waterfront public park.
• The building form creates view corridors from the city’s urban core that extend through to the water.
• More than 90,000 square feet of retail space animate the public facades of the building.
• The building’s entire perimeter is enclosed in an ultra clear structural glass envelope, creating a strong
visual connection between inside and outside.

in http://www.openbuildings.com/buildings/vancouver-convention-centre-west-profile-5003.html

Vancouver Convention Centre Features Canada's Largest Green Roof
By Preston | Topics: LEED, Nature | Comments (9)

This week, the west expansion of the Vancouver Convention Centre celebrates its grand opening, and we thought you should know a little about this incredible facility. Designed by Seattle's LMN Architects, as well as MCM and DA, the green convention center's most visual feature is the massive, six-acre green roof. It's Canada's largest and the biggest non-industrial living roof in North America! Set directly on the waterfront of Burrard Inlet, the west expansion is 1.2 million square feet and seriously enlarges the city's ability to provide greener conference space. Here are some of its green features:

Targeting LEED Canada Gold;
Green roof features more than 400,000 indigenous plants;
Expansion included shoreline and marine habitat restoration;
Water conservation and reuse system features black water treatment and desalinization;
Heat pump system takes advantage of constant seawater temperature;
Energy efficient fixtures installed throughout;
The structure uses natural ventilation and controlled daylighting; and
Cooling provided by radiant floors.
The black water and desalinization system alone is expected to cut potable water use by 60-70% over typical convention centers. Plus, the expansion created 130,000 square feet of new waterfront promenade and 120,000 square feet of public plazas for the public. It's an amazing facility by all accounts, and I'm sure we'll see more of it in the future.

IN http://www.jetsongreen.com/2009/04/vancouver-convention-centre-features-six-acre-living-roof.html



Led by Seattle based architecture firm LMN, the most extraordinary addition to the center is the 5-acre living roof that is landscaped with more than 400,000 indigenous plants and grasses, and provides a natural habitat to birds, butterflies, insects, small mammals, and bees. These bees (about 240,000 of them) live in four hives that produce honey to be used in the center’s kitchen. The layers of the structure act as an insulator, reducing heat gains in summer and heat losses in winter, as well as contribute to the building’s stormwater utilization. The underside of the roof is lined with beautiful Douglas Fir slats, a locally harvested material. It is also notable that the convention center roof has flexible space meeting rooms and an exhibition hall. You can see a detailed plan of the roof and other areas of the building, in the VCECE’s really cool online 3D floorplan application.

The renovation, waterfront improvements, and new west facility expansion were a project of the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo). At almost double the original estimate, it was upwards of $800,000,000 (USD), but the final design includes significant sustainable benefits that are sure to earn back the expenditures over time. The building’s foundation has a five-tiered artificial reef and 1500 feet of marine habitat that will be home to barnacles, mussels, seaweed, starfish, crabs and various fish species. In addition, the on-site black water treatment and desalinization systems that are projected to reduce potable water use 60 to 70 percent over typical convention centers. An integrated heat pump system takes advantage of the constant temperature of the adjacent seawater to moderate heating and cooling. The building design considers natural lighting and ventilation, in addition to the energy efficient fixtures and advanced energy management systems. The interior is clad with locally harvested materials, including Douglas fir and Hemlock wood finishes, and the flooring is low-VOC.

When the games end later this month, the VCEC will continue to function as conference, meeting, ballroom, and exhibition space. Even those that visit the site for leisure purposes will be able to take advantage of the wonderful views, and the 400,000 square feet of walkways, bikeways, public open space and plazas. “The design goes far beyond the big box functionality and experience of a traditional convention centre,” says Mark Reddington, FAIA, LMN partner. “Instead, it offers a new vision of sustainability and a rich public experience by weaving together the natural ecology, local culture, urban context, and building program in a unified whole that functions literally as a living part of both the city and the harbor.”

Read more: LEED Platinum Vancouver Convention Center has Canada’s Largest Green Roof VCEC Vancouver Convention Center – Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

IN http://inhabitat.com/leed-platinum-vancouver-convention-center-has-north-americas-largest-green-roof/vcc14/?extend=1