Aquaquest is a beautiful addition to the Vancouver Aquarium that was conceived as an education center to teach the surrounding Canadian community the importance of eco-friendly living. True to its nature, the complex demonstrates these principles through an impressive set of sustainable building strategies including a leafy green wall, rainwater harvesting, and a highly efficient heating and cooling system.
Aquaquest was constructed as an addition to the Vancouver Aquarium located inside Stanley Park in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. Designed by the global design firm Stantec, the Center includes over 52,000-square-feet of office space, gallery and exhibition areas, as well as classrooms and supplementary spaces for the existing facilities.
One of the greenest additions to the complex is the Center’s 10-foot-by-50-foot living wall, the first of its kind in North America, designed by Vancouver-based landscape architecture firm Sharp & Diamond. The leafy green wall also incorporates Vancouver’s first rainwater harvesting and reuse system. The wall is composed of over 7,000 native plant species to the region including fern, bleedingheart, huckleberry, and wintergreen. The installation is complemented by 75-square-feet green roof planters made up of three trees and various groundcover plants that help reduce soil erosion.
The building was recently LEED Gold certified, and some of the building’s other eco-friendly features include: low-flush toilets, and an efficient system of pipes that heat and cool the building.
Vancouver’s aquarium is a must visit location. It’s not only an aquarium, but an entire ecological biosphere
It would be nice if this post could elaborate on the heating and cooling system considering mechanical systems are the single most important component in reducing co2 emissions of buildings.