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 A
Sustainable Future for Vancouver
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“A sustainable Vancouver is a community that meets the needs
of the present without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs.
It is a place where people live, work, and prosper in a vibrant community
of communities.
In such a community, sustainability is achieved through community
participation and the reconciliation of short and long term economic,
social, and ecological well-being.
Sustainability is a direction rather than a destination. A sustainable
city is one that protects and enhances the immediate and long-term well
being of a city and its citizens, while providing the highest quality
of life possible. Sustainability requires integrated decision-making that
takes into account economic, ecological, and social impacts as a whole.”
- Excerpt from a City of Vancouver Policy Report, dated April
15, 2002, entitled "Creating
a Sustainable City"
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In the spirit of this direction the LEED™ rating system has been
chosen to assist in the design and to measure the response of the 1 Kingsway
project to the goal of sustainability. Please view our January 2005 LEED™ score card ( PDF, 69kb).
LEED™ - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
LEED™ was created by the
US Green Building Council to:
- define "green building" by establishing a common standard
of measurement
- promote integrated, whole-building design practices
- recognize environmental leadership in the building industry
- stimulate green competition
- raise consumer awareness of green building benefits
- transform the building market
In 2002, the Canadian Green building Council was established, and the
BC Green Building Council will become operational in 2003 and administer
the LEED BC certification program.
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GREEN DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS – based on the LEED rating system:
SUSTAINABLE SITES
- Reduce automobile related infrastructure maintenance
- Support pedestrians, cyclists, transit and alternative transportation
modes
- Reduce storm water management infrastructure
- Improve quality of life for building users and community residents
- Protect local habitats and enhance local biodiversity
- Focus development on previously developed, serviced sites
- Restore contaminated sites
- Reduce urban warming (heat island effect)
- Minimize negative environmental impact of building lighting
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WATER EFFICIENCY
- Minimize water use
- Minimize wastewater discharge
- Reduce cost for water supply, wastewater, infrastructure, & treatment
- Use stormwater on site to reduce discharge to sewer
- Increase native landscaping
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ENERGY & ATMOSPHERE
- Reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions
- Reduce operational energy costs
- Reduce contribution to global warming
- Increase users' control and comfort
- Increase indoor environmental quality
- Daylighting, passive solar heating, and natural ventilation
- Maximize renewable energy options with long term pay back
- Increase use of renewable energy: wind, solar, geothermal
- Use of low-emitting salvaged, recycled, or rapidly renewable materials
- Increase building flexibility and adaptability
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MATERIALS & RESOURCES
- Save capital funds by increasing a building's useful life
- Save capital funds by minimizing superfluous finishes
- Eliminate over-design of structural elements
- Reduce construction & demolition waste, salvaging building materials
- Improve indoor air quality for building occupants
- Environmentally responsible production, use & disposal of building
materials
- Select materials to reduce environmental impacts through reduced transportation
- Restore buildings through building reuse
- Support recycling
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INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
- Increase productivity, pride, happiness & well being of occupants
- Increase users’ comfort and control
- Reduce operational energy costs
- Increase daylighting and natural ventilation of building interior
- Reduce exposure to indoor pollutants though control of pollution production
and selection of materials
As the design progresses we will discuss on this page the design responses
of the 1Kingsway project to these goals.
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