VanDusen Botanical Gardens

The VanDusen Botanical Garden, covering 22 hectares of land in the Shaughnessy neighbourhood of Vancouver is a public garden displaying plants from all over the world. Named for local lumberman and philanthropist Whitford Julien VanDusen, this garden which is managed by the Vancouver Park Board has been open since August of 1975. Formerly the Shaughnessy Golf Course, the land was purchased by the City of Vancouver, with help from the provincial government and a donation from VanDusen, to preserve the green space and avoid the development of another subdivision. Development of the gardens began in 1971 and 4 years later opened to the public. Curator Roy Forster, who managed the gardens from 1977-1996, was recognized with an Order of Canada for his work on the development of the gardens.

From the VanDusen website:

VanDusen Botanical Garden provides an inspiring and enjoyable environment for visitors of all ages and interests. With its excellent collections and the beauty of their display, the Garden promotes knowledge and understanding of the world of plants and their fundamental importance to life.

The New Visitor Centre

As often mentioned throughout the blog, Vancouver is striving to be the greenest city in the world. Vancouver is proud to be on the forefront of sustainable architecture and invested a lot commiting to it. The garden had grown in popularity over the years, drawing many Vancouverites and tourists to the gardens year round, while hosting plenty of events including concerts, festivals and weddings. In an effort to match the natural beauty of the garden, a new facility was designed with the idea that it shouldn't harm the environment it surrounds. With that in mind, the designers began to look at the "Living Building Challenge", and after much thought and planning, the VanDusen Visitor Centre was awarded LEED Platinum and Living Building Status becoming the first living building in Canada. These impressive achievements have instantly made it one of Vancouver's most iconic buildings and a model for the future of city's development.

What is a "living building" and how does it compare to LEED?

A living building is the next step in construction, built of materials from sustainable sources and generating as much energy and resources as it can generate on site. A certified Living Building must be net-zero energy, net-zero water, non-toxic, reduce its embodied carbon footprint with carbon offsets and recycle 80 to 100 percent of construction waste generated.  To receive Living Building certification a building must have at least 12 months of occupancy and operation behind it to ensure that a project is functioning as anticipated.

LEED, as previously discussed, has a scale of ratings for improved environmental impacts - Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. While achieving LEED is an impressive accomplishment, even at the Platinum level buildings can still use resources from unsustainable sources although usually with mimimal environmental impact. Also to recieve LEED certification, the testing is done at the time of certification and no follow up is required. With the living building, follow up and testing is done to ensure that the building is in compliance with the standards required.

Design Elements:



Design functions at work



 Some of the key design elements to help achieve living status include

• green-roof
• geothermal heating
• solar panels
• a water capture system
• organic water purification system

You can learn a lot interesting facts about the building's design and function by watching the video below:

Building Shape

The building itself has a few unique features. Designed to resemble an orchid, the roof flows outward and connects with the surrounding environment. The roof slopes down into the gardens, making it possible for wildlife to walk right up the green roof and eat plants growing on the roof top.

Landmark

Garden Entrance

Considered one of the top 10 botanical gardens in North America, VanDusen is basically a living museum of plants collected from around the world. Due to Vancouver's milder climate, plants are capable of blooming year round with numbers now reaching 255,000 individual plants. The facility on site is world-class and engages the local community. VanDusen strives to educate others and acts as a resource for others that wish to create or nurture gardens of thier own. Its involvment with Vancouverites, and playing host to several events such as World at the Garden, Blooming Baroque, Jazz in the Garden and the spectacular Festival of Lights in December, drawings many visitors each year. The new Visitor Centre, Canada's first living building, is a landmark on its own, however the importance and longevity of the gardens shows how much Vancouverites value it. The entire botanical garden is an important piece of Vancouver, and will continue to serve the community and visitors alike for years to come.



Festival of Lights at VanDusen Gardens



Rock Garden



One of the many flower beds

View from Visitor Center to the gardens



Map of the Gardens (click for full size)



For additional review of the Visitor's Center, click here