Teck Acute Care Centre

Project
Teck Acute Care Centre

Location
Vancouver, BC

Award Winner
Connect Landscape Architecture

Project Team

Architect: Clint Diener, ZGF Architecture; Frank Capistrano, HDR | CEI
Civil Engineer: Mike Kompter, Hub Engineering
Code Consultant: Michael J. Van Blokland, LMDG
Electrical Engineer: Paul Fritz, SMP
Landscape Architect: Ken Larsson, Connect Landscape Architecture
Landscape Contractor: Jeremy Miller, Houston Landscapes
LEED Consultant: Laura Hudson, Edge Consultants
Mechanical Engineer: Sean Lawler, AEI
Owner: Lynn Wong, Provincial Health Services Authority
P3 Construction & Financing: Pat Duggan, AFFINITY Partnerships (Ledcor & Balfour Beatty)

“Sun-filled, colourful, peaceful, wondrous: these are not descriptions traditionally associated with a hospital experience, but they are essential to the care of children - and therefore a major consideration in the creation of the new TACC”

— Ken Larsson, Connect Landscape Architecture

Holistic Healing for Patient, Community, and Environment

The overall vision for the Teck Acute Care Centre at the BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital embraces design and innovation supporting holistic healing - not only at the patient level, but also to the larger community and natural environment. Three key principles informed the landscape design.

Healing environments through evidence-based research demonstrating that access or views to nature has proven to lessen hospital stays. Patient-oriented environments foster healing by providing introspective and active spaces, promoting wellness and offering therapeutic functions at a variety of scales. The landscape design references and celebrates natural systems. Plants, wildlife, water and natural sounds all contribute to alleviating stress for patients and family.

Regenerative landscapes and the promotion of ecological health is accomplished through extensive and intensive living roofs, an irrigation reduction strategy, and a landscape design appropriate for a healthcare setting that adapts to dynamic climate, social and economic environments. The design anticipates growth and changing uses in addition to seasonal changes.

Finally, the spirit of place, symbolically responding to British Columbian ecological types moving from the ‘Forest Floor’ concept at the lower levels to a ‘Mountain Meadow’ on the roof decks. Public art is distributed throughout the exterior environment, providing opportunities for discovery, joy, and reinforcement of natural themes.

Described as a leading-edge example of living surfaces supporting a healing environment, judges praised the project for its inventive variable gardens exhibiting a range of green roof applications and excellent example of integration of living surfaces into site composition.

VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre

Project
VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre

Location
Vancouver, BC

Award Winner
Connect Landscape Architecture

Project Team

Acoustics: BKL Consultants Ltd
Green Roof Advisor/Supplier: Jelle Vonk, Zinco Canada
Architect: Jim Huffman, Perkins + Will Canada
Building Envelope: Sophie Mercier, Morrison Hershfield
Civil Engineer: RJ Binnie & Associates
Client: Harry Jongerdon, VanDusen Botanical Garden; John Ross, Vancouver Parks Board
Construction Manager: Rebecca McDiarmid, Ledcor Construction
Landscape Architects: Cornelia Hahn Oberlander; Ken Larsson, Connect Landscape Architecture, Inc
Landscape Contractor: Jeremy Miller, Houston Landscapes
Living Roof Consultant & Supplier: Ron Schwenger, Architek
Mechanical/Electrical: Goran Ostojic, Integral Group
Membrane Installer: Metro Roofing
Membrane Supplier: Soprema
Structural Engineer: Duane Paibroda, Fast and Epp

“The Musqueam people like all Aboriginal people throughout the world lived in harmony with nature. We have respect for all life: we respect the plants that provide the medicines that heal our body; give our body nourishment through the foods that we eat; that clean the soil and water; and clean the air that we breathe.”

— Jeri Sparrow, Musqueam Elder, Opening Prayer Speech

Reconnecting People to Modern Environmental Concerns

The state-of-the-art Visitor Centre re-connects people to the environmental issues of the 21st Century including water and energy conservation, re-use and recycle, beauty of our native plant ecology, and a healthier way of building and design. The overall scope was 5 acre site master plan including a 16,000-ft2 green and blue roof.

Inspired by the form of a native orchid leaf, the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre forges a unique relationship between architecture, landscape, and ecology to create a landmark facility. The dynamic roof is the cornerstone of the building’s water conservation strategy with six individual undulating roof petals; two blue roofs for water collection and solar hot water tubes and four petals planted with living roofs. The restorative planting strategy is inspired by the Pacific Northwest Coastal Grassland communities featuring custom fescue grasses with native perennial bulbs and sedums. 100 per cent of site runoff is managed on site for a net zero water runoff facility.

The roof itself is shaped and divided like the orchid leaves. The green roof was carefully planned to reflect the Pacific Northwest Coastal grassland community and includes over twenty species of native plants, bulbs, and grasses. The unique undulating roof planes simulate rolls and hummocks with gentle slopes of 5% to near vertical grades. The variety of solar orientation creates multiple opportunities for grassland/bulb plant communities.

Green roof runoff is directed to an existing stream, enhanced infiltration beds, and wetlands in addition to underground cistern. Key sitelines were established from the main arrival bridge, upper terrace, restaurant, and street and throughout the gardens to reinforce the importance of the roof to the image of the project. The project is certified for LEED Platinum and Living Building Challenge (LBC) 2.0. The judges praised the project’s connection to greater site systems and integration of ecology and technology.

Mountain Equipment Coop Head Office

Project
Mountain Equipment Coop Head Office

Location
Vancouver, BC

Award Winner
Connect Landscape Architecture

Project Team

Architect: Greg Piccini, Proscenium Architecture & Interiors Inc; Hugh Cochlin, Proscenium Architecture & Interiors Inc
Civil Engineer: Sandy Treagus, Mountain Equipment Co-op
Client/Owner: Ken Larsson, Connect Landscape Architecture, Inc
Commissioning Agent: Stantec
Electrical/Mechanical Engineers: Roland Charneux, Pageau Morel and Associates
Energy Consultant: FVB Energy Inc
Environmental Consultant: Golder Associates, Ltd
General Contractor: Ventana Construction Corporation
Green Building Consultant: Corin Flood, Green Building Consulting & Design
Green Roof Landscape Installation: North by Northwest
Landscape Architect: Peter Tapp, Kerr Wood Liedal
LEED Consultant: Jason Packer, Recollective
Membrane Supplier: Homan Roofing Ltd
Roofing Contractor: Metro Roofing
Structural Engineer: Tanya Luthi, Fast + Epp Structural Engineers
 

“The design “completely plays into MEC’s idea that you can have a place with a sense of environment, where you can connect with the context around you.””

— Ron Clay, Proscenium

“It includes some wonderful collaborative and social spaces. The project has been tailored to its inhabitants, offering up environmental features as a way to enhance their day-to-day working life. The green roof is not there just to gain a credit, but is a habitable program space for the enjoyment of employees”

— SAB Magazine

Excellence In Integrative, Holistic Design

The Mountain Equipment Coop Corporate Headquarters is a 4-story heavy timber building is located on a 101,000 sq.ft. former industrial site, and a highly visible example of a high performance building and landscape:  passive energy, water management, and both interior and exterior amenity for occupants. The landscape and architectural design create a head office that functions as an extension of one of MEC's core values - "sustainability by design".

Objectives include:

1. Celebration of Rain Water - Located on the original China Creek, the project “daylights” and passively treats stormwater. The ‘blue roof’ captures rainwater for irrigation and non-potable building use. Stormwater is filtered and managed through a series of rain gardens and native water wise plantings. A vertical wall displays rain water falling from the roof to an at grade rain water feature.
2. Activating the Outdoors - The site is accessibile - located adjacent to a rapid transit station and bike route. A large intensive green roof with panoramic views of the north shore offers leisure space, vegetable planters, and fruit trees for employees and clients. An entry plaza encourages social interaction with custom seating and bicycle storage.
3. Having a Light Footprint - The LEED® Platinum MEC Corporate Headquarters is a prominent example of a high performance building and landscape: passive energy, water management, and both interior and exterior amenity for occupants.

Overall, the landscape supports MEC's vision of creating a forward-thinking workplace that fosters staff health. The plan provides approximately 8,565 sq.ft of intensive/extensive green roof space (27.5% of the 31,000 sq.ft. building footprint). Judges praised the project’s integration of green roof technology into broader systems such as water management and highlighting a great step in local community design leadership.