Vancouver Winter Games – Final 2010 Venue is a Model of Sustainability
We're ready. The opening of the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre in February means that every one of the 2010 Winter Games sports venues is complete and set for final testing and training. All of the venues are models of sustainability and the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre, the setting for curling and wheelchair curling events during the Games, is no exception. An outstanding example of low-impact construction, the 9,290-square-metre (100,000-square-feet), 6,000-seat facility has been billed as one of the world's greenest curling rinks.
The centre's footprint was kept small from the beginning, starting with the decision to replace an existing, but aging, community facility rather than to break new ground. With some new landscaping and, where necessary, moving trees to the surrounding parkland, the building went up with no loss of green space or playing fields. To make the most of construction efficiencies, an adjacent aquatic centre – a legacy for the neighbourhood – was built at the same time. Aiming for the gold standard in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) — a widely accepted set of green building criteria — this eco-friendly structure uses captured rainwater to flush toilets which, along with the showers and sinks, all use low-flow water systems, cutting water use by up to 30 per cent.
A high-performance envelope insulates the building to maintain ice-sheet perfect temperatures, while a mix of electricity, natural gas and solar energy power the site. Excess heat from ice-making is channelled to warm the rest of the building and the adjacent aquatic centre. And it's not just efficient, it's also quite lovely: just south of downtown Vancouver in the Riley-Hillcrest neighbourhood, the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre is on one of the highest points of land in the city, with views of the North Shore mountains and the city centre. Surrounded by green space, the sweeping interiors are graced with a blend of traditional and contemporary works by Canadian First Nations, Inuit and Metis artists.
Post-Games, the site will be used for many years to come as a multi-purpose community recreation centre, offering ice hockey and curling rinks as well as a gym, library, and aquatic centre. The centre was put to the test almost immediately after opening, hosting the World Wheelchair Curling Championships in February, followed by the World Junior Curling Championships in March. For more information on the venue, visit www.vancouver2010.com
For more destination story ideas related to the 2010 Winter Games, visit www.destination2010.ca
March 13, 2009
Posted in: Canada