Awards: Consulting Engineers of Alberta (Award of Merit) & Canadian Wood Council (Alberta Wood Works! Award of Excellence)
This sustainable, economical and architecturally outstanding visitor centre houses researchers, administrative staff and volunteers. The facility houses 6,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor exhibits, interpretive programming, a gift shop and office space.
The Boreal Centre for Bird Conservation seeks to connect visitors to the land and the environment. Accordingly, it was important for both the client and the design team that the building be energy efficient and environmentally responsible. The result is a building with very low operating costs, superior comfort for occupants and reduced impact on the environment.
It has been designed to operate largely off-grid; due to its remote location, it is not attached to any gas lines and has no water or sewer access. The roof was designed to evoke a bird in flight, but its inverted shape serves another purpose; rainwater is collected in a cistern in the basement for treatment. For every 2.5 cm of rain, more than 14,000 litres of water is collected and treated.
