Revitalization at the VanDusen Botanical Gardens

Vancouver's VanDusen Botanical Gardens has been offering its visitors refuge from increasing urbanization for over 30 years. Internationally renowned sustainable landscape designer Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, in combination with Architecture firm Busby Perkins + Will, have been selected to provide an innovative and inspirational facility to ensure its success well into the future.

overview

The building's five-petal roof will be partially covered with solar panels and green roofing.
The roof system will also collect and process rain water.

main entrance

elevation

Living Building Philosophy

At the heart of the Living Building concept is the belief that our society needs to move quickly to a state of balance between the natural and built environments – to define the highest measure of sustainability possible in the built environment based on current thinking.

The Living Building elements have been attained in many projects around the world – just not all together. It is hoped that VanDusen’s project will accomplish this.

Site
It is understood that the buildings would cause no negative impact. The idea is to reverse the trend of land degradation and invite nature’s functions into a healthy interface with people and buildings.

Energy
A living building relies on current solar income. The building’s energy needs would be supplied by on-site renewable energy on a net annual basis

Materials
Those used will be safe, healthy and responsible for all species.

Water

A Living Building is water independent. The plan is for 100 percent of VanDusen’s occupants’ water use to come from captured precipitation or reused water that is appropriately purified without the use of chemicals. Water would be cleaned using juncos, iris and carex grown in the garden.

Indoor Quality

Healthy for all people – the design will focus on the major conditions that must be present for a healthy interior environment to occur.

Beauty & Inspiration
A Living Building Tells a Story. As a society we are often surrounded by ugly and inhumane physical environments. This project will contain design features intended solely for human delight and the celebration of culture, spirit and place appropriate to the function of the building.

perspective main entrance

conceptual master plan for VanDusen Botanical Gardens

for more information please visit:
busby perkins + will
vandusen botanical gardens

Australian Impact

Project Name: The Australian Garden
Client: Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranborne

Principal Designer/s: Taylor Cullity Lethlean with Paul Thompson
Design Team: Kevin Taylor, Perry Lethlean, Kate Cullity, Marshal Kelaher, Samantha Parsons, Jimmy Yang, Ross Privitelli, Gary Keltie, Susan Farrugia, Sarah Haq, Ofri Gilan, Natalie Schneide

Site Area: 25 Hectares
Construction: 1995 - Ongoing

"The project seeks to stimulate visitors, in creative landscape compositions, using the diversity and potential of indigenous flora.", Taylor Cullity Lethlean on The Australian Garden.

aerial view during construction

Garden features:
Red Sand Garden
Rockpool Waterway
Dry River Bed
Arid Garden
Exhibition Gardens
Eucalyptus Walk

The journey through the Australian Garden starts with the Sand Garden where the expanse of red sand contrasts with rich green and grey foliage.

The themes of the Exhibition Gardens are:
the diversity of Australian plants
water conservation
the future garden
home garden
the children’s backyard garden

The design of the Dry River Bed relates to the ephemeral nature of water within the Australian landscape and the power of water to shape the land into river-beds on a seasonal basis.

Photographs: Dianna Snape, Peter Hyatt, Jill Burness, Ben Wrigley