A week or so ago I posed about the Living Building Challenge, an international architectural challenge that poses the question, “What if every single act of design and construction made the world a better place?”
Well, British Columbia is stepping up again! The Okanagan Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation (the OCOEISBTAREC f it were an acronym. And I am happy it’s not) is being being in Penticton, BC.
The Centre is aiming to be Canada’s most environmentally responsible and sustainable facilities; it’s goal to help shift the perspective of Canada’s construction community to realize that using environmentally sustainable building practices on an institutional project doesn’t mean having to pay a premium. As an interior designer, this is a goal close to my heart.
The 75,000 sf facility will not only help change the current perceptions about environmentally responsible construction, but it will also serve as a living laboratory for the Okanagan College students with access to systems and information as an important consideration in the building’s development. The Centre will also provide space for research, development and testing by industry and not for profit organizations involved in environmentally focused innovation.
The Centre is being designed by CEI Architecture, a west coast based firm with it’s head offices in Vancouver.
