The Centre reduced its use of energy by 42% without relying on harmful HCFCs. Energy efficient strategies include a heat recovery chiller, chilled/heated slab flooring throughout office spaces, and natural ventilation wherever possible. The success of these methods meant that traditional mechanical systems could be reduced in size, leading to further reductions in energy use. Considering that the Centre operates continuously, this represents a tremendous energy savings over the building's lifecycle.
Electrical and mechanical equipment is housed in interstitial service floors between each laboratory floor, facilitating major equipment reconfigurations with minimal interruptions to ongoing research.
As a health research centre, it was imperative that the indoor environment provide a healthy work place, encouraging researchers to reach peak performance. Low-emitting finishing materials were selected to contribute to better indoor air quality, which is further enhanced with abundant daylight and operable windows.
The building includes architectural symbolism that makes reference to the research mandate of the building: round lab windows symbolize Petri dishes, office windows are coloured to represent an abstract of Chromosome 8, and a double helix staircase alludes to our molecular biology. It is hoped the architecture of this building will attract and retain top research scientists from around the world.
Despite its unique green approach the project was finished on schedule and $7 million under budget, contrary to the belief that green design costs more.
Tours: Only the ground floor and the Rix Family Discovery Centre (library) are open to the public. Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm. No need to call in advance.
This post was imported from the 'Greater Vancouver Green Guide', it's part of the 'Green Guide Portal' to the Green Building Brain.
