Details: One of BC’s first Living Buildings is on the cusp of beginning construction in Penticton. The

Okanagan College Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation is targeting net zero energy consumption, supported by the largest non-utility array of photovoltaic solar panels in the country tied into the power grid. The building will also feature a green roof, solar chimneys for natural cross ventilation, ground source heating and cooling, extensive use of pine beetle wood and other local materials, a solar hot water system, and heat and methane recovery from waste water.

The Living Building Challenge is the most advanced green building certification system in the world, and acts to diminish the gap between current limits and ideal solutions. The program covers all building at all scales and is a unified tool for transformative design, envisioning a built environment that is socially just, culturally rich and ecologically benign.

Centre of Excellence project architect Robert Parlane of CEI, project landscape architect Phil Rinn of Site 360, and client Steve Robinson of Okanagan College will lead a collaborative discussion about the design process they engaged in to make the vision for one of Canada’s greenest buildings a reality. Emmanuel Lavoie, Cascadia Board Member and Living Building Ambassador will begin the evening by presenting an overview of the restorative design principles at the heart of the Challenge.