Presenters:

Jim Huffman, Associate Principal, Busby Perkins+Will

Maginnis Cocivera, Architect and Urban Planner, Busby Perkins+Will

Max Richter, IA.AIBC, MRAIC, LEED AP

Moderator:

Peter Busby, Managing Director, Busby Perkins+Will

The VanDusen Botanical Gardens Visitor Centre and the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) are leaders in the field of living building and regenerative design. These projects are paving the way for buildings
across Canada to look beyond LEED Platinum. Being amongst the first of their kind in the country has provided great triumph at times but also many lessons learned and challenges faced. Through rigid constraints has emerged creativity and new design methods. The design process has evolved to encompass research, material testing and collaboration. This session will explore the lessons learned in pursuit of certifying VanDusen and CIRS as both LEED Platinum and Living Building simultaneously.

Presenter Bios

Jim Huffman
Jim Huffman, Associate Principal, Busby Perkins+Will, has over 21 years experience working on urban planning, commercial and residential design projects for both public and private interests. Jim has a proven ability to lead public consultations and liaise with stakeholder groups, achieving consensus and successful approvals. His expertise has been instrumental in the success of numerous residential development projects including the Wall Centre Hotel/Condominium project in Vancouver, the LEED Platinum Certified Dockside Green Development in Victoria, and the 2008 Lieutenant Governor General Award winner TELUS atrium, in Vancouver. Jim is Design Principal of the VanDusen Botanical Garden Facility Renewal, creating an exceptional new facility, leading the way in regenerative design.

Maginnis Cocivera
Maginnis Cocivera, Architect and Urban Planner, Busby Perkins+Will, joined the firm in 2006, and has worked on many projects related to infrastructure on a variety of scales. He has extensive international experience on the urban and regional scale, including a series of four Urban Structure Framework Plans for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Currently, Maginnis is steering the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) at UBC through construction. CIRS is designed be a state-of-the-art “living-lab” in which researchers from leading academic institutions can perform interactive research on, and assessment of, current and future building systems and technologies. The Centre functions as infrastructure on the scale of a building, recovering heat from neighbouring buildings, mining sewage from the trunk line, and recharging the aquifer with tertiary treated water. As a member of the design team, Maginnis developed and coordinated all systems related to water, including rainwater harvesting, potable treatment, grey and black water treatment and recycling, and landscape interface through a water feature and bioswale.

Max Richter
As a member of the BPW team, Max brings experience in sustainable design on a variety of transportation, infrastructure and government projects. He has particular interest in using daylight in creative ways to achieve beautiful spaces and energy efficient buildings. Max has provided sustainable design consulting services to a number of private and government agencies.

Most recently, Max worked on the proponent bid design for a project for Defense Construction Canada in Ottawa, Ontario and the Seymour-Capilano Water Project for Metro Vancouver.  Max has led a team of consultants working with the City of Vancouver on a green building strategy and worked with the Canada Green Building Council on future revisions to the LEED green building rating system. He has also worked on the Industry Advisory Committee, consulting with the Province of British Columbia on greening the BC Building Code. Max has a strong commitment to lasting, beautiful designs. Towards this end, he strives to achieve ecologically responsible, functionally efficient, personally comfortable and graceful architecture.

Peter Busby
Peter Busby, Managing Director, Busby Perkins+Will, is involved in the design and sustainable direction of each project the firm engages. Overseeing design offices in Vancouver, British Columbia and Seattle, Washington, Peter directs more than 100 employees working on projects across Canada, the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. Busby Perkins+Will has the largest portfolio of built green projects in North America and has received more than 100 design honours, including six Governor General Awards and 11 Lieutenant Governor Awards. Peter is a founder and recent Chair of the Canada Green Building Council,as well as a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada since 1997. In 2005 Peter was invested as a member of the Governor General’s Order of Canada and in 2008, was conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Science by Ryerson University.