{"id":206,"date":"2013-07-09T15:58:45","date_gmt":"2013-07-09T15:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/?p=206"},"modified":"2025-09-05T15:07:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T15:07:08","slug":"formable-alucobond-helps-architects-push-design-boundaries-at-vandusen-botanical-garden-visitor-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alucobondusa.com\/blog\/formable-alucobond-helps-architects-push-design-boundaries-at-vandusen-botanical-garden-visitor-centre\/","title":{"rendered":"Formable ALUCOBOND Helps Architects Push Design Boundaries At VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Project Name:<\/th>\nVanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Project Location:<\/th>\nVancouver, British Columbia<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ALUCOBOND\u00ae Materials:<\/th>\n12,000 sq. ft. 4mm ALUCOBOND\u00ae naturAL
\nCustom Plain Mill Finish<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Year of Installation:<\/th>\n2011<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Architect:<\/th>\nPerkins+Will Canada<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fabricator\/Installer:<\/th>\nKeith Panel Systems Co. Ltd.
\nVancouver, British Columbia<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
General Contractor:<\/th>\nLedcor Group of Companies
\nVancouver, British Columbia<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Images:<\/th>\nRaymond Chan, Photomedia Canada<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

When design of the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre was awarded to Perkins+Will<\/a> Canada in late 2007, architects were challenged to create a building that not only would increase visibility for and attract more visitors to the approximately 54-acre internationally recognized garden in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, but also meet the highest goals in sustainable building design.<\/p>\n

Officially opened in October 2011, the $21.9 million (Canadian dollars) one-story 19,000 square-foot  Visitor Centre \u2013 which houses a caf\u00e9, library, volunteer facilities, a garden shop, office space and flexible classroom spaces \u2013 achieves both goals with an iconic design reflective of the organic forms and natural systems of a native orchid. Submitted for LEED New Construction v 1.0 Platinum status, the Visitor Centre also will be submitted to the International Future Living Institute\u2019s Living Building Challenge \u2013 the most stringent measurement of sustainability in the built environment. The Visitor Centre serves as a public face for the City of Vancouver\u2019s initiative to be the \u201cGreenest City in the World\u201d by 2020.<\/p>\n

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe worked in a design charrette that included members of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, user communities and volunteers to determine their needs and wants,\u201d said Harley Grusko, IA-AAA, LEED AP BD+Cah, architectural designer, Perkins+Will Canada in  Vancouver, British Columbia. \u201cOne of their goals was to attract more visitors with a bold agenda to triple visitorship. They wanted architecture that would enable more visibility because the existing buildings for the garden entry were hidden from the road by trees. From our perspective, we wanted to give them something iconic. Keeping in mind the garden setting and the group\u2019s bold desires, we looked for inspiration to guide this project to make it iconic and as sustainable as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

The building\u2019s unique orchid design was developed in collaboration with Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, a premiere Canadian landscape architect based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Both Grusko and Oberlander were inspired by the close-up plant images of German photographer Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both were captivated by his image of an orchid,\u201d said Grusko. \u201cWe were inspired by its quite curvaceous form and its meaning in relation to this project\u2019s sustainability goals. A flower captures energy from the sun and doesn\u2019t produce waste.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing from an architectural oculus, the orchid design was achieved with \u201cundulating green roof \u2018petals\u2019 that float above rammed earth and concrete walls,\u201d according to an architect\u2019s statement. \u201cThese petals and stems are connected by a vegetated land ramp that links the roof to the ground plane, encouraging use by local fauna.\u201d<\/p>\n

To meet Living Building Challenge standards, only those building products that did not contain \u201cRed List\u201d chemicals were utilized. Materials included fully recyclable ALUCOBOND\u00ae aluminum composite material (ACM), wood, glass, and rammed earth.<\/p>\n

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a shift in thinking in how to design buildings with materials that appear more raw-like in nature, so we limited our material palette,\u201d said Grusko. \u201cWe wanted raw aesthetics. In terms of its visual presence, the ALUCOBOND\u00ae offered the look of raw aluminum that attracted us. We wanted aluminum for the roof edge because we knew it was going to capture the eye.<\/p>\n

The detail around the perimeter of the roof was extremely important. We needed to find a material that could bend in a couple of directions at the same time. We also needed a fabricator who was willing to try to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keith Panel Systems (KPS)<\/a> Co. Ltd., of Vancouver, British Columbia, fabricated and installed approximately 12,000 square feet of ALUCOBOND\u00ae naturAL in the custom plain mill finish and 4mm thickness on the roof of the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre with a custom KPS attachment system.<\/p>\n

Architects created the building and roof design with Rhino 3D and Autodesk Revit 3D modeling software. The roof was built with wood, with portions of it covered by Alucobond. Five of the orchid-design \u201cpetals\u201d feature Alucobond, including one unique petal that starts out as the roof and then dramatically drops downward in a half-barrel shape to the ground.<\/p>\n

Doug Dalzell, general manager, KPS, said the company was approached by Perkins+Will Canada and general contractor Ledcor Group of Companies, of Vancouver, British Columbia, early on in this project to serve in a design-assist role.<\/p>\n

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOur challenge was not to make art out of metal but to cover art (the building) with metal and maintain its shape,\u201d said Dalzell. \u201cThe building was made out of wood that could be shaped and glued to assist in creating all of these forms. We used our technology, CAD software and shop equipment to develop an understanding of this building\u2019s form. A decision was made that ALUCOBOND\u00ae would be the best material to achieve this three-dimensional challenge. We\u2019ve done more than 3,000 projects with ALUCOBOND\u00ae and know that it can be \u2018alive\u2019. The material had to go up and down and sideways at the same time to achieve these undulating roof lines. There are both positive and negative curves in this design.\u201d<\/p>\n

KPS not only created detailed shop drawings to reflect the patterning of the ALUCOBOND\u00ae on the roof but built a 30-foot model of the building featuring its \u201cmost radical\u201d parts, according to Dalzell. \u201cWe were confident that we could approach this challenge properly to help create these roof edges,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe roof edge had to be built from a durable material with a specific look to accentuate the roof lines that undulate in three dimensions,\u201d according to Rebecca McDiarmid, GSC, LEED AP, project manager, Ledcor, who said the roof\u2019s original design called for a sheet metal product to be installed shingle-style.
\n\u201cFrom the first factory mock-up, it was clear that KPS was able to get the ALUCOBOND\u00ae to create a much smoother roof line with a lot less seams than what had been designed initially,\u201d said McDiarmid. \u201cThere\u2019s so much more flow to the edge of the roof. The ALUCOBOND\u00ae was also the most sustainable product we looked at for this application in terms of both its material components and the proximity of the manufacturing facility to our site.  \u2026 I\u2019ve never seen anything like this; it\u2019s a stunning profile.\u201d<\/p>\n

While a great deal of time and effort were involved in creating shop drawings and modeling the roof,  architectural changes still had to be addressed by KPS employees on site during ALUCOBOND\u00ae installation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest challenge for KPS had to be dealing with changes as we went along,\u201d said Grusko. \u201cOne of the last materials installed on this building was the Alucobond. A great deal of the finished profile of the roof was in KPS\u2019 hands. In the end, they had to do a lot of re-measuring and site work. One of the great things about KPS is the company\u2019s continued interest in innovation. They want to create unique products to showcase their work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Alucobond,<\/a><\/p>\n

The extra efforts of KPS and of all subcontractors who worked with Ledcor on this project proved well worth it, according to McDiarmid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project really pushed the envelope in terms of architectural design and construction,\u201d said McDiarmid. \u201cAt one point or other in this project, each subcontractor told me that they\u2019d never done anything like this before. It was an amazing project to be part of.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe response to this building has been quite overwhelming,\u201d said Grusko. \u201cWe\u2019ve been hearing a lot of great things. \u2026 The ALUCOBOND\u00ae helped us to push the boundaries of our design ambitions. We had a great experience with Alucobond. I\u2019d certainly use it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitors Centre will be submitted to the Living Building Challenge after a year\u2019s worth of operating data has been collected. The facility uses on-site renewable sources to achieve net-zero energy on an annual basis; sequesters enough carbon to achieve carbon neutrality; uses filtered rainwater for the building\u2019s greywater requirements; and treats 100 percent of blackwater in an on-site bioreactor.<\/p>\n

Gallery images courtesy of Raymond Chan, Photomedia Canada and Keith Panel Systems<\/p>\n\n\t\t