Campus Revitalization

February 12, 2008

In the spring of 2007, the North Shore Credit Union Foundation announced it had chosen the North Vancouver Outdoor School (NVOS) to be the recipient of their $1 million Legacy Fund. Targeted to support the development of the North Shore Credit Union Environmental Learning Centre (ELC), the award will greatly assist in financing the design and construction of a sustainably-designed environmental education facility.

Since the announcement, months of research, planning and design have culminated in preliminary plans for a centre that incorporates a spirit of “leading green” by example. Larry McFarland Architects, a Vancouver-based team that specializes in sustainable design, was contracted to provide architectural services for the design and construction of the ELC. While the plans must still proceed through further approvals, we’re pleased to share with you the general concept and current artist’s rendering of the future ELC.

The design, with its raised floor and forest setting, follows a “tree house” concept, allowing the natural habitat underneath to flourish with minimal disturbance from the structure above.

Ecological principles influence everything from start to finish. The design incorporates natural systems and resources and incorporates “green” building innovations throughout. Plans call for a building that has a net-zero impact on the environment by relying on renewable energy resources.

The plans even go so far as to reduce the impact from construction activities and prioritize the recycling of construction waste. To do this, the building will be constructed out of pre-fabricated elements that will then be assembled on site.

“Our goal is to have the facility model the values of environmental stewardship,” says John Lewis, North Vancouver School District superintendent. “We asked the architects to design a building that responded to the ecology of the site, including the cycles of the river, the eagles and the salmon as well as the rainforest setting. We’re very pleased with what they’ve done.”

The next step toward opening the North Shore Credit Union Environmental Learning Centre in early 2010 will be to engage in community consultation in the Squamish area, and seek additional partners wishing to participate in this unique, leading edge, eco-sustainable project.