Venue Design and Green Buildings

Venue Design and Green Buildings — Use Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System criteria to develop buildings that consume less energy, water and materials, help reduce venue footprints and minimize waste, emissions and use of toxic materials. Compact site design and sensitive construction and operations practices are also critical to minimizing impacts of venue activities.

A green building is a healthy building designed, constructed and operated to reduce its overall environmental impact and increase occupant well-being. VANOC is using Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) criteria to guide our building activities and reduce our environmental impact. LEED is a North American rating system first developed in the United States and then adapted by the Canadian Green Building Council. Under LEED, points are awarded (leading to different levels of certification) for meeting performance criteria in five categories: 

In venue design and construction, VANOC has used LEED green building criteria to help reduce venue footprints and develop buildings that consume less energy and water and minimize waste, emissions and the use of toxic materials. To further minimize environmental impacts and enhance the athlete and visitor experience in 2010, we have focused on compact site design and limited vegetation clearing. This involves, for example, leaving clusters of trees in place to maintain the natural setting and preserve species habitat.

Projects earn credits toward LEED certification for their environmental sensitivity in six categories: siting of projects to minimize impacts on nature; water-use efficiency; energy efficiency and atmosphere; materials and resources sourcing; indoor air quality; and innovation and design process. LEED ratings range from basic certification through Silver, Gold and Platinum levels. The more points a project earns, the higher the rating.

In spring 2007, the VANOC Campus 2010 high-rise building (our head office) received Gold certification within the LEED Green Building Rating System by the US Green Building Council. (While the Canadian Green Building Council is introducing a Commercial Interiors certification program, it was not available at the time we needed to apply for our certification, so we received it from the US Green Building Council.)
LEED Silver criteria will guide construction and operation of other venues we are responsible for building. Most of our venue partners are also building to LEED criteria. The City of Vancouver intends to achieve formal certification for the Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Village (in southeast False Creek) and the curling venue (at Hillcrest/Nat Bailey Stadium Park).

Because development of outdoor sport venues includes more than buildings, VANOC has emphasized environmentally sensitive development of other venue components, such as ski trails. For example, the Whistler Olympic Park legacy recreation trails will use a significant number of existing forestry roads. At Whistler Creekside, our efforts to reduce environmental impacts resulted in a 20 per cent reduction in the originally proposed amount of old growth tree removal, a 79 per cent reduction in removal of disturbed riparian vegetation and a 96 per cent reduction in removal of undisturbed riparian vegetation, as compared to the initial EA-approved venue plans.