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Nature in the City Design or Britannia Community Services CentreDaniell
Farz
VisionAn ecologically ocused redesign o Britannia osters an educational environ
enhancing student and community interaction with nature in the city. Britan
buildings, grounds, and programming provide an abundance o educationa
tunities about urban ecological living. A new inormation centre with expos
space welcomes visitors and showcases the centres unique ecological chara
Four other buildings and an improved landscape, all designed with ecologic
priorities, urther establish Britannia as an exemplar o green living, especial
the realm o ood, water, waste, and energy. A variety o urban ood product
education spaces demonstrate that agriculture is not exclusive to vast elds arms. Britannia collects, stores, and treats rain and stormwater on site to ens
continued viability o urban agriculture and lessen the impact o water runo
watershed. Energy requirements are supplemented by solar photovoltaic po
waste. Overall, the interaction o ood, water, waste, and energy systems is g
the principles o permaculture: that each ecological unction is supported by
elements, which, in turn, provide a diversity o unctions in order to create a
resilient and sustainable built environment.
GoalsEstablish Britannia as a1. centre or ecological learning and living
Integrate multiple elements o ood systems into Britannia, rom2.
ional opportunities to production, processing, and market spac
Utilize rainwater harvesting, cisterns, and stormwater managem3.
techniques to collect, store, and treat water on site
Supplement energy requirements with solar photovoltaics and 4.
rom waste
Improve pedestrian circulation and provide nodes or socializing5.
Foster support or each ecological unction by providing multip6.
elements (redundancy)
Assure provided elements perorm multiple unctions (stacking7.
Vision
Napier Street
Venables Street
William Street
Charles Street
CottonDrive
WoodlandDrive
McLeanDrive
CommercialD
rive
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Nature in the City Design or Britannia Community Services CentreDaniell
FarzProgram Requirements
Facility Existing Gross (m2) Net Change
Gymnasium D 1,356 --
Elementary School 2,500 --
Library 2,649 --
Pool 1,157 --Gymnasium C 1,137 --
Ice Rink 2,692 --
Inormation Centre 595 + 405
Secondary School 8,900 + 1,835
Grandview Woodlands Family Place 311 --
Eco Housing -- + 2,412
Community Food Centre -- + 1,308
Solar Aquatic Centre -- + 168
Net Change (m2)
Total: 6,128
Community 1,881
School 1,835
Residential 2,412
Buildings SummaryOur design or the Britannia site keeps most existing acilities, creating a net gai
area. The main design eatures are greenspace and public space improvements
New Inormation Centre1.
Natural Playground2.
Garden and Agricultural Spaces3.
Community Food Centre4.
High School Addition5.
Solar Aquatic Centre6.
Natural Pool7.
Eco Housing8.
Legend
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5
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Nature in the City Design or Britannia Community Services CentreDaniell
FarzNaturalized Spaces
Landscaping
Rootop Bird Habitat
Pollinator Garden
Natural Playground
Natural Swimming Pool
Ethnobotanical Garden
Legend
DescriptionIn this design, each intervention is aimed at creating positive change or both the com
the environment: deepening our understanding o ecosystem processes; increasing
taking greater responsibility or soil, plant and human health; reducing energy input
output; reducing our pressure on the local water system; and, strengthening connect
ood.
The re-integration o nature into the urban landscape provides the community and t
with spaces to eat, learn and play - such as a natural playground or the elementary s
Olympic-sized natural swimming pool, outdoor learning space, and numerous garde
taneously, the design responds to the needs o other living beings by beginning to in
pockets o habitat space, including pollinator gardens and rootop bi rd sanctuaries.
In these reimagined spaces, ecological unctions are supported by multiple elements
in turn, provide a diversity o unctions in order to create a more resilient and sustain
environment. Opportunities are available to provide rootop b ird sanctuaries while a
rainwater and producing solar electricity.
Component Gross m2
Roo top B ird H abit at 6, 53 4
Pollinator Garden 400
Natural Playground 1,900
Natural Swimming Pool 1,937 (incl. lt
Ethnobotanical Garden 500
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Nature in the City Design or Britannia Community Services CentreDaniell
FarzFood Systems
DescriptionA primary objective o this design is to integrate multiple elements o ood systems o
rom educational opportunities to production, processing, and market spaces.
The design integrates ood production and education gardens to oster a strong sens
in Britannia. The ocus on ood is based on the assumption that ood is one o the mo
and eective ways that an individual can connect to other people and to the environ
connect, because ood provides a common linkage on which we all depend and prov
with a catalyst or engaging with local ecology and sustainability concepts. At the sam
diversity o ood and ood systems encourage cross-cultural sharing and the generati
ideas.
As opposed to ocusing on high agricultural yields, this is a garden-based design. Gar
provide a variety o experiences to dierent people throughout the day and seasons.
can be places or exploration and imagination, or observation and examination, or s
and contemplation, or community interaction, or play, or nursing the spirit, and o c
growing.
The dierent gardens in this design, which include vegetable gardens, herb gardens,
tanical gardens, orchards, and pollinator gardens, provide a variety o educational o p
or students and community members, as well as habitat or pollinators and creature
pests. A large agricultural area in ront o the high school serves a s an outdoor classro
as space or more intensive growing and experimentation. In additio n, space is provid
Community Food Centre or an i ndoor/outdoor pocket armers market, small-scale ca
and other processing initiatives, a ood bank, and oce space. A community k itchen
incorporated into either the existing caeteria space or the new high school addition.
The agricultural yield rom the available growing space could potentially range rom 80,000 lbs o produce annually. Based on current average consumption, this could pr
and vegetables to between 70 and 200 people.
Component Gross m2
Window Farm 16
Elementary School Vegetable Patch 224
Farmers Market Space 180 (outdoor), 282 (indoor)
Community Gardens 5,057
Community Food Centre 1,308 (includes indoor Farme
Herb and Showcase Garden 340
Bake Oven 2.6
High School Agricultural Space 1,750
Edible Landscaping 200
Chicken Coop 32
Espalier Orchard 250
Orchard 1,536
Window Farm
Elementary School Vegetable Patch
Farmers Market Space
High School Agricultural Space
Community Bake Oven
Community Food Centre
Herb and Showcase Garden
Orchard
Chicken Coop
Edible Landscaping
Espalier Orchard
Community Gardens
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Nature in the City Design or Britannia Community Services CentreDaniell
Farz
Rain Water Collection
Cisterns
Permeable Articial Tur
Permeable Pathway
Solar Aquatics
Rain Garden
Legend
Water Systems
DescriptionIt is undeniable that water is an omnipresent element o lie i n Vancouver. Currently, V
receives 1,117 mm annually in rainall. However, as British Columbia is expected to be
er and drier with climate change and as more people move into Vancouver, it is impo
water more consciously and integrate water p rocesses into the built environment.
Rainwater harvesting absorbs excess runo and thus occurs across the site with appr
placed rain gardens and bioswales to collect rainwater rom streets and playing elds
dens, green walls, and cisterns collect and store water rom the roos o community ce
ings. Beore entering the cisterns, the rainwater is ltered through rain gardens on th
side o high school building and another garden southwest o the i ce rink. Increased
suraces, created by renaturalizing areas and improving suraces. The gravel eld and
elds inside o the track are resuraced with all-weather, sand-based tur. The renaturground west o the elementary school has been bermed to recreate the contours. Bio
placed on the new gradient to manage runo. Walkways along Napier Street and Par
paved with spaced grass paving, proving more attractive as well as more permeable.
The solar aquatics centre lters black water rom residential buildings and the new hi
building through a process that uses living organisms to puriy water. Solar aquatic sy
be sized to process 22 to 4,500 m3/day, which can serve rom 100 to 20,000 people. T
aquatics centre rst screen solids, passing reclaimed water through living systems tha
the water. Reclaimed water can be used or heating and cooling, as reclaimed water i
mately 17 C, which is ideal or keeping the greenhouse warm enough or the living
ltered and treated water is used or irrigation o playgrounds and growing areas.
Component Gross m2 Yield / Capac
Rootop Rainwater Harvesting 7,185 8.03 million L/yr
Rain Gardens & Bioswales 1,100
Cisterns 892 4-month rainal
Solar Aquatics 168 up to 600 peopl
All-weather tur 2,847 4 micro soccer
Spaced Grass Paving 2,774
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Nature in the City Design or Britannia Community Services CentreDaniell
Farz
Legend
Energy & Waste Systems
Solar Photovoltaics
Solar Hot Water
Composting
Biodiesel
Legend
DescriptionImproved management o waste and energy on site at Britannia can help the centre s
and insulate itsel against rising energy and waste disposal costs in the uture. Given
and location o Britannia, solar photovoltaics, solar hot water heaters, biodiesel produ
composting, and educational programs oer the best opportunities or Britannia.
Solar photovoltaic on the roos o the Community Food Centre, high school building
rink placed due south at a 49 degree incline (equal to latitude) can generate approxim
watts DC per square oot. Annually, this solar array with a capacity o 1.14 megawatts
1,184,536 kilowatt hours (kWh) o electricity annually ater accounting or inecienci
average BC Hydro customer used 11,260 kWh in 2009, this array could support the av
electrical consumption o 105 households. Solar hot water systems use the suns enerwater. Solar hot water systems are located on top o all the new b uildings, as well as o
the swimming pool, to reduce water heating costs.
Biodiesel is a uel created by transorming waste vegetable oil or animal at into a die
a process o transesterication. Biodiesel can be made on a small scale with little train
capital cost. First, the waste oil is ltered through a screen and piped into a conventio
water heater. The oil is heated. Then, an alcohol and catalyst are added to the heated
lated. Usually, the alcohol is methanol and the catalyst is sodium hydroxide, potassiu
(lye), or potassium chloride (potash). Ater, the mixture settles and a glycerin (soap) b
is removed. Finally, the resulting biodiesel is washed with water to remove nal impu
whole process requires approximately 48 to 72 hours a cycle. While the process involv
hazardous chemicals, the entire process is quite sae i the chemicals are stored prope
introduction into the process is supervised by someone with chemicals experience.
Composting acilities are located in the community gardens and take ood waste rom
caeteria, homes, and garden trimmings. The compost can then be applied to commubeds. Combined with an educational conservation, reuse, and recycle program, the e
waste systems provide many learning and training opportunities or community mem
Component Gross m2 Yield /
Solar Photovoltaics 6,534 1.14 MW
MWh (10
holds)
Solar Hot Water 8,750 Water he
indoor p
homes
Biodiesel 100 200 L ca
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Nature in the City Design or Britannia Community Services CentreDaniell
FarzCirculation
Britannia Commons1.
City View Corner2.
Britannia Knoll3.
Butterfy Park4.
Market Square5.
Pedestrian Path
Bike Path
Node
Legend
DescriptionCommunity members have expressed a desire or a more p leasing and accessible pat
to navigate Britannia. By creating a diagonal path rom Grandview Park to Napier Stre
high school, Britannia is more connected to the community rom the south, and the w
the Britannia campus becomes more accessible.
The ve nodes will be social areas that highlight Britannias green community ocus. B
Commons denes a new entrance or the site and central gathering space i n Britanni
Centre is the main eature o Britannia Commons, with a window arm and activity sh
provides a revolving educational exhibit o Britannias ecological eatures. Britannia C
begins at Commercial Drive, with the retail alleys blocked by trees and planters, and e
library. The Commons is a semi-permeable surace with a central ountain and seatingThe next nodes along Napier Street heading west, are City View Corner and Butterfy
View Corner eatures a raised vegetated planter bed with seating that overlooks the p
and vegetable patch, the all-weather elds, community gardens, and the city. The Bu
is adjacent to the high school buildings and eatures a f ower pollinator garden. The n
play area and year-round tur eld rame the area, also. The node serves as a way poi
Napier Street and Grandview Park to guide pedestrians next to the historic high scho
towards Venables Street, guiding community members to the Community Food Cent
Farmers Market.
Market Square is ramed by the Community Farm Centre and Farmers Market area. M
osters social interaction through a ocus on ood. A community outdoor oven anchor
the corners, with plenty o shaded and open seating provided. The Community Food
contains indoor market area, an industrial kitchen or canning and ood preparation,
or biodiesel processing on the ground foor with space on the second foor or a ood
oces or ood business management.
Britannia Knoll invites people to enter Britannia rom Grandview Park. Continuing the
meanders diagonally through Grandview Park rom Commercial Drive, the Britannia
opens up the view to downtown Vancouver and the ecological eatures o the Britann
Pedestrians can watch people playing in the natural playground and year-round recre
drawn downhill into Butterfy Park and Napier Street.
The bike path responds to a desire rom the community to have a bic ycle path throug
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Nature in the City Design or Britannia Community Services CentreDaniell
FarzPhasing
Phase 1Build a new showcase Inormation Centre1.
Transorm surace parking into multi-use space2.
Capture and store rainwater3.
Improve aades, entrances, landscaping and paving4.
Begin high school agricultural space on north side o library5.
Capture solar energy6.
Phase 2Establish a Green Ribbon through Britannia7.
Create Year-Round Sports Fields8.
Create ood education inrastructure in Britannia9.
Create a waste management system in Britannia10.
Build additional high school space, including art alley11.
Heat exchange between pool and rink12.
Resurace rest o Napier with semi to permeable suraces13.
Phase 3Build Eco Housing on remainder o parking lot14.
Natural Pool15.
Legend
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
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Nature in the City Design or Britannia Community Services CentreDaniell
FarzSections & Detail Plan
Section o Britannia Commons (Napier Street) looking West
Section o Running Track, Fields, and Garden looking North
Detail Plan o High School Garden and Market Square
Site Section looking South
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Nature in the City Design or Britannia Community Services CentreDaniell
FarzShadow Study
21 December, 3pm
21 December, 12pm
21 March, 3pm
21 March, 12pm
21 June, 3pm
21 June, 12pm
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Nature in the City Design or Britannia Community Services CentreDaniell
Farz3D Views
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