In this issue’s cover story, former lieutenant-governor of B.C. David Lam encourages people to plant cherry trees. This reminds me that like those beautiful trees, good ideas should blossom. A good idea that is blossoming at Langara College is the commitment to making the education here sustainable.
Sustainability means lots of things: how we treat the environment, how we look at the courses we offer, the way we relate to our students as individuals who are important to us. The Langara College Board is concerned with these concepts, so it has created a governance policy on environmental sustainability. The policy strives to minimize the impact we have on the environment and to promote a healthy respect for the environment among our students. It also directs the way we plan our physical spaces.
Our new library is a demonstration unit for this. The building has received a Holcim Foundation Award for Sustainable Construction and is moving toward LEEDS (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certification, which is the second highest recognition for environmental sustainability any building can receive.
I’m proud of the library because it not only embraces sustainable design but also because it’s esthetically pleasing, like this magazine. Being in that building is like living inside a sculpture. It’s conducive to study. It’s a really healthy environment.
The concrete roof has a wave that captures prevailing winds that come across the area. Wind tunnels open and close the windows to cool the building. Scalloped bulkheads beneath the roof hide radiant pipes, so instead of seeing the environmental systems, you see lots of curves. There’s even a bamboo garden that’s glass enclosed. The building is not just four square walls. It is a flowering example of sustainability.
Construction on the library will continue into the summer, and then the community will be invited to a big celebration. In the meantime, let’s relax under a cherry tree and read this issue of Pacific Rim Magazine.
Linda Holmes, President