Vision

An ecologically focused redesign of Britannia fosters an educational environment,

Venables Street enhancing student and community interaction with nature in the city. Britannia’s
buildings, grounds, and programming provide an abundance of educational oppor-
tunities about urban ecological living. A new information centre with exposition
space welcomes visitors and showcases the centre’s unique ecological characteristics.
Four other buildings and an improved landscape, all designed with ecological
priorities, further establish Britannia as an exemplar of green living, especially in
the realm of food, water, waste, and energy. A variety of urban food production and
education spaces demonstrate that agriculture is not exclusive to vast fields on rural
farms. Britannia collects, stores, and treats rain and stormwater on site to ensure the
continued viability of urban agriculture and lessen the impact of water runoff on the
watershed. Energy requirements are supplemented by solar photovoltaic power and
waste. Overall, the interaction of food, water, waste, and energy systems is guided by
the principles of permaculture: that each ecological function is supported by multiple
elements, which, in turn, provide a diversity of functions in order to create a more
resilient and sustainable built environment.
Napier Street
Goals
1. Establish Britannia as a centre for ecological learning and living
2. Integrate multiple elements of food systems into Britannia, from educat
ional opportunities to production, processing, and market spaces
3. Utilize rainwater harvesting, cisterns, and stormwater management
techniques to collect, store, and treat water on site
4. Supplement energy requirements with solar photovoltaics and energy
from waste
William Street
5. Improve pedestrian circulation and provide nodes for socializing
6. Foster support for each ecological function by providing multiple

Commercial Drive
Woodland Drive

elements (redundancy)
McLean Drive

Cotton Drive

7. Assure provided elements perform multiple functions (stacking)

Charles Street
Erin Bett
Nature in the City Design for Britannia Community Services Centre
Vision Daniella Fergusson
Farzine MacRae
Tate White
 Buildings Summary
Our design for the Britannia site keeps most existing facilities, creating a net gain in built
area. The main design features are greenspace and public space improvements.

6 4 8 7 Facility Existing Gross (m2) Net Change (m2)

Gymnasium D 1,356 --
Elementary School 2,500 --
5 Library 2,649 --
Pool 1,157 --
3 Gymnasium C 1,137 --
Ice Rink 2,692 --
Information Centre 595 + 405
Secondary School 8,900 + 1,835
Grandview Woodlands Family Place 311 --
1 Eco Housing -- + 2,412
Community Food Centre -- + 1,308
Solar Aquatic Centre -- + 168

Net Change (m2)

Total: 6,128
2 Community
School
1,881
1,835
Residential 2,412

Legend
1. New Information Centre
2. Natural Playground
3. Garden and Agricultural Spaces
4. Community Food Centre
5. High School Addition
6. Solar Aquatic Centre
7. Natural Pool
Not to Scale 8. Eco Housing

Erin Bett
Nature in the City Design for Britannia Community Services Centre
Program Requirements Daniella Fergusson
Farzine MacRae
Tate White
 Description
In this design, each intervention is aimed at creating positive change for both the community and
the environment: deepening our understanding of ecosystem processes; increasing biodiversity;
taking greater responsibility for soil, plant and human health; reducing energy input and waste
output; reducing our pressure on the local water system; and, strengthening connections to our
food.
The re-integration of nature into the urban landscape provides the community and the students
with spaces to eat, learn and play - such as a natural playground for the elementary school, an
Olympic-sized natural swimming pool, outdoor learning space, and numerous gardens. Simul-
taneously, the design responds to the needs of other living beings by beginning to introduce
pockets of habitat space, including pollinator gardens and rooftop bird sanctuaries.
In these reimagined spaces, ecological functions are supported by multiple elements, which,
in turn, provide a diversity of functions in order to create a more resilient and sustainable built
environment. Opportunities are available to provide rooftop bird sanctuaries while also collecting
rainwater and producing solar electricity.

Component Gross m2
Rooftop Bird Habitat 6,534
Pollinator Garden 400
Natural Playground 1,900
Natural Swimming Pool 1,937 (incl. filtration)
Ethnobotanical Garden 500

Not to Scale Legend

Landscaping
Rooftop Bird Habitat
Pollinator Garden
Natural Playground
Natural Swimming Pool
Ethnobotanical Garden

Erin Bett
Nature in the City Design for Britannia Community Services Centre
Naturalized Spaces Daniella Fergusson
Farzine MacRae
Tate White
 Community Food Centre
Description
Farmers’ Market Space A primary objective of this design is to integrate multiple elements of food systems onto the site,
Herb and Showcase Garden
from educational opportunities to production, processing, and market spaces.
Community Bake Oven The design integrates food production and education gardens to foster a strong sense of place
Orchard
in Britannia. The focus on food is based on the assumption that food is one of the most powerful
and effective ways that an individual can connect to other people and to the environment. We
High School Agricultural Space connect, because food provides a common linkage on which we all depend and provides us
with a catalyst for engaging with local ecology and sustainability concepts. At the same time, the
Chicken Coop diversity of food and food systems encourage cross-cultural sharing and the generation of new
ideas.
As opposed to focusing on high agricultural yields, this is a garden-based design. Gardens
provide a variety of experiences to different people throughout the day and seasons. Gardens
Edible Landscaping can be places for exploration and imagination, for observation and examination, for solitude
and contemplation, for community interaction, for play, for nursing the spirit, and of course for
growing.
Espalier Orchard Window Farm The different gardens in this design, which include vegetable gardens, herb gardens, ethnobo-
tanical gardens, orchards, and pollinator gardens, provide a variety of educational opportunities
for students and community members, as well as habitat for pollinators and creatures to manage
pests. A large agricultural area in front of the high school serves as an outdoor classroom as well
Elementary School Vegetable Patch
as space for more intensive growing and experimentation. In addition, space is provided in the
Community Food Centre for an indoor/outdoor pocket farmers’ market, small-scale canning
and other processing initiatives, a food bank, and office space. A community kitchen could be
incorporated into either the existing cafeteria space or the new high school addition.
Community Gardens
The agricultural yield from the available growing space could potentially range from 30,000 to
80,000 lbs of produce annually. Based on current average consumption, this could provide fruits
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)
Not to Scale Community Gardens 5,057
Community Food Centre 1,308 (includes indoor Farmers’ Market)
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

Erin Bett
Nature in the City Design for Britannia Community Services Centre
Food Systems Daniella Fergusson
Farzine MacRae
Tate White
 Description
It is undeniable that water is an omnipresent element of life in Vancouver. Currently, Vancouver
receives 1,117 mm annually in rainfall. However, as British Columbia is expected to become warm-
er and drier with climate change and as more people move into Vancouver, it is important to use
water more consciously and integrate water processes into the built environment.
Rainwater harvesting absorbs excess runoff and thus occurs across the site with appropriately
placed rain gardens and bioswales to collect rainwater from streets and playing fields. Rain gar-
dens, green walls, and cisterns collect and store water from the roofs of community centre build-
ings. Before entering the cisterns, the rainwater is filtered through rain gardens on the northern
side of high school building and another garden southwest of the ice rink. Increased permeable
surfaces, created by renaturalizing areas and improving surfaces. The gravel field and playing
fields inside of the track are resurfaced with all-weather, sand-based turf. The renaturalized play-
ground west of the elementary school has been bermed to recreate the contours. Bioswales
placed on the new gradient to manage runoff. Walkways along Napier Street and Parker Street are
paved with spaced grass paving, proving more attractive as well as more permeable.
The solar aquatics centre filters black water from residential buildings and the new high school
building through a process that uses living organisms to purify water. Solar aquatic systems can
be sized to process 22 to 4,500 m3/day, which can serve from 100 to 20,000 people. The solar
aquatics centre first screen solids, passing reclaimed water through living systems that disinfect
the water. Reclaimed water can be used for heating and cooling, as reclaimed water is approxi-
mately 17 °C, which is ideal for keeping the greenhouse warm enough for the living filters. All
filtered and treated water is used for irrigation of playgrounds and growing areas.

Component Gross m2 Yield / Capacity

Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting 7,185 8.03 million L/yr
Rain Gardens & Bioswales 1,100
Cisterns 892 4-month rainfall
Solar Aquatics 168 up to 600 people
All-weather turf 2,847 4 micro soccer fields
Not to Scale Spaced Grass Paving 2,774

Legend
Rain Water Collection
Cisterns
Permeable Artificial Turf
Permeable Pathway
Solar Aquatics
Rain Garden

Erin Bett
Nature in the City Design for Britannia Community Services Centre
Water Systems Daniella Fergusson
Farzine MacRae
Tate White
 Description
Improved management of waste and energy on site at Britannia can help the centre save costs
and insulate itself against rising energy and waste disposal costs in the future. Given the size
and location of Britannia, solar photovoltaics, solar hot water heaters, biodiesel production,
composting, and educational programs offer the best opportunities for Britannia.
Solar photovoltaic on the roofs of the Community Food Centre, high school buildings, and ice
rink placed due south at a 49 degree incline (equal to latitude) can generate approximately 13
watts DC per square foot. Annually, this solar array with a capacity of 1.14 megawatts can produce
1,184,536 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity annually after accounting for inefficiencies. As the
average BC Hydro customer used 11,260 kWh in 2009, this array could support the average
electrical consumption of 105 households. Solar hot water systems use the sun’s energy to heat
water. Solar hot water systems are located on top of all the new buildings, as well as on the roof of
the swimming pool, to reduce water heating costs.
Biodiesel is a fuel created by transforming waste vegetable oil or animal fat into a diesel through
a process of transesterification. Biodiesel can be made on a small scale with little training and
capital cost. First, the waste oil is filtered through a screen and piped into a conventional hot
water heater. The oil is heated. Then, an alcohol and catalyst are added to the heated oil and circu-
lated. Usually, the alcohol is methanol and the catalyst is sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide
(lye), or potassium chloride (potash). After, the mixture settles and a glycerin (soap) byproduct
is removed. Finally, the resulting biodiesel is washed with water to remove final impurities. The
whole process requires approximately 48 to 72 hours a cycle. While the process involves some
hazardous chemicals, the entire process is quite safe if the chemicals are stored properly and their
introduction into the process is supervised by someone with chemicals experience.
Composting facilities are located in the community gardens and take food waste from the
cafeteria, homes, and garden trimmings. The compost can then be applied to community garden
beds. Combined with an educational conservation, reuse, and recycle program, the energy and
waste systems provide many learning and training opportunities for community members.

Not to Scale
Legend

Component Gross m2 Yield / Capacity

Legend Solar Photovoltaics 6,534 1.14 MW or 1,185
MWh (105 house-
Solar Photovoltaics
holds)
Solar Hot Water Solar Hot Water 8,750 Water heating for
indoor pool and for
Composting homes
Biodiesel Biodiesel 100 200 L capacity

Erin Bett
Nature in the City Design for Britannia Community Services Centre
Energy & Waste Systems Daniella Fergusson
Farzine MacRae
Tate White
 Venables Street
Description
Community members have expressed a desire for a more pleasing and accessible paths to use
to navigate Britannia. By creating a diagonal path from Grandview Park to Napier Street near the
high school, Britannia is more connected to the community from the south, and the west side of
the Britannia campus becomes more accessible.
5 The five nodes will be social areas that highlight Britannia’s green community focus. Britannia
Commons defines a new entrance for the site and central gathering space in Britannia. A new Info
Centre is the main feature of Britannia Commons, with a window farm and activity showcase that
McLean Drive

Commercial Drive
provides a revolving educational exhibit of Britannia’s ecological features. Britannia Commons
begins at Commercial Drive, with the retail alleys blocked by trees and planters, and ends at the
library. The Commons is a semi-permeable surface with a central fountain and seating area.
The next nodes along Napier Street heading west, are City View Corner and Butterfly Park. City
View Corner features a raised vegetated planter bed with seating that overlooks the playground
and vegetable patch, the all-weather fields, community gardens, and the city. The Butterfly Park
is adjacent to the high school buildings and features a flower pollinator garden. The natural
play area and year-round turf field frame the area, also. The node serves as a way point from
4 2
Napier Street and Grandview Park to guide pedestrians next to the historic high school buildings
1 Napier St towards Venables Street, guiding community members to the Community Food Centre and
Farmers’ Market.
Market Square is framed by the Community Farm Centre and Farmers’ Market area. Market Square
fosters social interaction through a focus on food. A community outdoor oven anchors one of
the corners, with plenty of shaded and open seating provided. The Community Food Centre
contains indoor market area, an industrial kitchen for canning and food preparation, and an area

Cotton Drive
for biodiesel processing on the ground floor with space on the second floor for a food bank and
offices for food business management.
Britannia Knoll invites people to enter Britannia from Grandview Park. Continuing the path that
meanders diagonally through Grandview Park from Commercial Drive, the Britannia Knoll path
opens up the view to downtown Vancouver and the ecological features of the Britannia site.
3 Not to Scale
Pedestrians can watch people playing in the natural playground and year-round recreation fields,
drawn downhill into Butterfly Park and Napier Street.
Woodland Dr

William Street
The bike path responds to a desire from the community to have a bicycle path through Britannia.

Legend 1. Britannia Commons

Pedestrian Path 2. City View Corner
3. Britannia Knoll
Bike Path
4. Butterfly Park
Node 5. Market Square

Erin Bett
Nature in the City Design for Britannia Community Services Centre
Circulation Daniella Fergusson
Farzine MacRae
Tate White
 Phase 1
1. Build a new showcase Information Centre
2. Transform surface parking into multi-use space
3. Capture and store rainwater
4. Improve façades, entrances, landscaping and paving
5. Begin high school agricultural space on north side of library
6. Capture solar energy

Phase 2
7. Establish a Green Ribbon through Britannia
8. Create Year-Round Sports Fields
9. Create food education infrastructure in Britannia
10. Create a waste management system in Britannia
11. Build additional high school space, including art alley
12. Heat exchange between pool and rink
13. Resurface rest of Napier with semi to permeable surfaces

Legend
Phase 3
14. Build Eco Housing on remainder of parking lot
Phase 1
15. Natural Pool
Phase 2
Not to Scale Phase 3

Erin Bett
Nature in the City Design for Britannia Community Services Centre
Phasing Daniella Fergusson
Farzine MacRae
Tate White
 Detail Plan of High School Garden and Market Square

Section of Britannia Commons (Napier Street) looking West

Not to Scale

Site Section looking South Section of Running Track, Fields, and Garden looking North
Erin Bett
Nature in the City Design for Britannia Community Services Centre
Sections & Detail Plan Daniella Fergusson
Farzine MacRae
Tate White
 21 December, 12pm 21 June, 12pm 21 March, 12pm

21 December, 3pm 21 June, 3pm 21 March, 3pm

Erin Bett
Nature in the City Design for Britannia Community Services Centre
Shadow Study Daniella Fergusson
Farzine MacRae
Tate White
 Not to Scale

Erin Bett
Nature in the City Design for Britannia Community Services Centre
3D Views Daniella Fergusson
Farzine MacRae
Tate White