Vision

Venables Street In 2040, Britannia will be the vibrant heart of Grandview-Woodlands, seamlessly
connecting to the neighborhood with lively homes and shops that join the centre to
the community, and fostering urban habitat with water management and riparian
zones.

Goals
1. Improve connectivity
Parker Street 2. Increase building density
3. Integrate water systems
4. Integrate uses
Although this design seeks to increase density on the Britannia site, retaining existing
structures is a priority. Infill is used to define entrances on Napier Street and Parker
Street. New buildings block alleys on Napier Street; however, the alleys are still acces-
sible from Parker and William Streets. The current library is broken up with some struc-
Napier Street tures remaining to improve connectivity on the site. New buildings have been added
to both increase density and to create a street grid pattern to improve connectivity.
More opportunities for social enterprise have been created by including a Farmer’s
Market, store fronts on Commercial Drive, gallery and performance space, a café,
teaching kitchen, and affordable residences. The design includes opportunities for
education and personal development, too, with the inclusion of a teaching kitchen,
family centre, technology training facility, and university satellite campus. Finally, the
William Street
elementary school has been moved to an area further away from Commercial Drive
into its own campus, to address concerns of parents.
As a result, Britannia is more walkable, legible, and better connects to the surrounding
neighborhood, becoming less of a campus. Increased foot traffic in conjunction
to better entrances and connections will make Britannia more lively and inviting.
Ecological-inspired design of stormwater management will encourage more wildlife
Commercial Drive
Woodland Drive
McLean Drive

Cotton Drive

on the site, as well as tempering hot summer temperatures and dampening noise from
surrounding arterials.
Charles Street

Not to Scale

Heart of Grandview Design for Britannia Community Services Centre

Vision Daniella Fergusson
25 March 2010
 Venables Street

3
Parker Street

4 5 6 Description
1 2 Britannia Community Services Centre Society was created in 1974 to develop and
facilitate educational, recreational, library and social services for the communities
12 7 of Grandview-Woodland and Strathcona. The Britannia Community Services Centre
Napier Street Society includes the Vancouver School Board, the Vancouver Public Library Board and
9 the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation. Together, the Society manages a 17
8

Commercial Drive
acre complex which consists of a seniors’ centre, child care centres, racquetball court
McLean Drive

and mat room, swimming pool, elementary school, secondary school, community
information centre, four gymnasia, public library, teen centre, learning resource centre,
10 fitness centre, ice rink, and meeting rooms. Currently the Society is undertaking a
public process to rethink its facilities and services.
William Street
11
Woodland Drive

Cotton Drive

Legend
1. High School Cafeteria & Gym A/B 7. Information Centre
2. High School 8. Elementary School
3. Ice Rink 9. Seniors’ Centre
Charles Street
4. High School 10. Gym D
50 m 250 ft 5. Pool & Fitness Centre 11. Child Care Centre
6. Gym C 12. Library

Study Area

Heart of Grandview Design for Britannia Community Services Centre

Britannia Today Daniella Fergusson
25 March 2010
 Farmers’ Market Venables Street
Light Industrial Live-Work

Vision Buildings Summary

This design retains 9 Britannia Community Centre buildings and adds 16 new struc-
tures. The net change is 15 buildings, plus additions to existing buildings, with a total
Residential Residential & BCSC Space
of almost 30,000 m2 of new space for community programming, schools, homes, and
Residential & shops.
Retail
While Britannia’s campus currently provides just an elementary school, high school,
public library, and recreational space, this design accounts for the following uses:
Pool & Gyms Parker Street
• Industrial Live-Work
UBC Annex • Farmers’ Market
Performance Space &
Art Gallery
Family Centre • BCSC Social Enterprise Retail

Residential & • Cafe and Teaching Kitchen

High School
Social Enterprise
Cafe & Teaching Kitchen • Family Centre

Social Enterprise • University of British Columbia Learning Centre / Annex Campus

Napier Street
• Homes
Library • Stormwater management (bioswales and constructed wetland)
Community
Garden Elementary School
Net Change (m2)
Tech Training Centre Community 13,201
School 460
Retail 2,277
Residential 13,936
Total 29,874
William Street

Commercial Drive
Woodland Drive
McLean Drive

Cotton Drive

Charles Street Not to Scale

Heart of Grandview Design for Britannia Community Services Centre

Program Requirements Daniella Fergusson
25 March 2010
 Improve connection to Venables Street

Improve connection to Commercial Dr 3 4 5 Mobility

Charrette Summary
3 4 5 Mobility
Separate Elementary School On Saturday March 6, 2010, students from the University of British Columbia and the BCSC Society held
Mobility, Waste 2 3 4 Energy a charrette open to the community to create a vision for Britannia in 2040 and identify principles that
Improve connection to Venables Street
should guide the design process.
3 4 5 Mobility
Improve greenspace in Britannia A classmate and I ran a conceptual design discussion station. The purpose of our station was to elicit
Separate Elementary School 3 4 5 Food ideas from community members attending the charrette about what the Community Centre may look
like in 30 years. We placed a 1:400 scale aerial photograph on a table surrounded by 8 chairs.
Mobility, Waste 2 3 4 Energy
Provide covered outdoor areas
We facilitated three rounds of discussions at our stations. Generally, each of the discussions followed
Improve greenspace in Britannia 3 the same format, and we had about six to 8 people per session. First, we introduced ourselves. Then, we
3 4 5 Food described the purpose and goals of our discussion station, and explained that since we only had time to
Integrate food services talk about a few of the goals, we could to focus on environmental areas on the site, housing and business
Provide covered outdoor areas Energy 1 2 3 4 5 Food, Waste,opportunities,
Water and community spaces.
3 Second, we introduced the aerial map, including the main streets and our location on the map. Once it
Improve Accessibility
was clear that people knew where the various buildings and roads were on the map, we placed pre-cut
Integrate food services Energy, Waste 2 3 4 5 Mobility tracing paper on the map and spread pens around the table. We invited community members to use the
Energy 1 2 3 4 5 Food, Waste, Water pens and identify areas during the discussion.
Expand on top of existing buildings
Third, we started the discussion around the table by asking people about Britannia’s future entrances and
Improve Accessibility 3 4 5 Energy, Mobility, Waste
the heart of the Community Centre. We wanted to find out if people thought that in the future Britannia
Energy, Waste 2 3 4 5 Mobility would have the same entrances or whether they would change. We also wanted to know where the heart
Expand into underutilized and paved land
of Britannia would be in the future. Two of the three groups identified that the heart of Britannia in the
Expand on top of existing buildings 3 4 5 future would be where it is now – between the library and the seniors’ centre on Napier Street. The third
Mobility, Waste

3 4 5 Energy, Mobility, Waste group identified the future heart of the community as being between the elementary school and the
Provide better socializing and support areas southeastern corner of the high school.
Expand into underutilized and paved land Energy 1 2 3 4 5 Food
Finally, we introduced the topics of environmental sustainability, business, and housing opportunities.
3 4 5 Mobility, Waste Talking about “environmental sustainability” was challenging, because the topic is large and vague.
Create more activity over 24 hours
Energy 1 2 3 4 5
The community goals list to the left emerged out of the discussions at this discussion station. The colored
Mobility, Food
Provide better socializing and support areas
bars under each goal illustrates the impact the goal has on energy, water, waste, mobility, and food
Energy 1 2 3 4 5 Food systems. Generally, a yellow rating means that the goal has a neutral effect on the system. Red means that
the goal is in conflict with the system. For example, creating more activity over 24 hours leads to more
Create more activity over 24 hours energy use, which is in conflict with an efficient energy system. Green means that the goal supports the
Energy 1 2 3 4 5 Mobility, Food system. For example, improving connections to Britannia from arterial streets is synergistic with mobility.
As a result of organizing community priorities and feedback in this way, I decided to focus on improving
Legend the water systems in Britannia while also seeking to improve connectivity, increase density, and integrate
Conflict 1 2 3 4 5 Synergy uses on the site.

Heart of GrandviewLegend
Design for Britannia Community Services Centre Design Rationale Daniella Fergusson
25 March 2010
Conflict 1 2 3 4 5 Synergy
 Venables Street
Description
Currently, Britannia is hard to navigate on foot. The site rests on a slope, with the
lowest point on the western portion of the site sitting 16 meters below the highest
point on the east. As a result, the site is divided by staircases and dead ends, which
make it difficult for people unfamiliar with the site or with mobility challenges to
navigate.
This new design seeks to give the Britannia site a block pattern, increasing the
number of paths within the site and connections with the Grandview-Woodlands
neighborhood. The design preserves automobile and emergency access to the site
on two North-South streets. Access to commercial and light industrial alleys are also
preserved, though the alleys have been blocked off to Britannia in order to improve
the pedestrian experience.
The new grid pattern also create paths that end at popular destinations, such as the ice
rink, the library, the swimming pool, the high school, and the elementary school.
A new path created to connect Napier Street to McLean Drive bisects a soccer field
with micro soccer pitches. The path can be accommodated by moving the soccer goals
while retaining pitch size.

Component Width (meters)

Primary Path 6 to 8
Secondary Path 2 to 4
Pedestrian-Oriented Street & Bike Path 4 to 6
Car-Oriented Alley 4+

Pedestrian-Oriented Street with swales

William Street Legend

Primary Path
Secondary Path
Pedestrian-Oriented Street & Bike Path
Commercial Drive
Woodland Drive

Car-Oriented Alley
McLean Drive

Cotton Drive

Interaction with Grandview-Woodlands

Not to Scale Destination within Britannia
Charles Street

Heart of Grandview Design for Britannia Community Services Centre

Improve Connectivity Daniella Fergusson
25 March 2010
 Venables Street
Description
This design seeks to retain as many existing structures as possible, while also
increasing density, mixing uses, and creating a better street grid pattern. The purple
buildings are new structures. The buildings highlighted in green have been modified.
The library, for example, has a wing removed on Napier Street in order to improve the
pedestrian experience on Napier, by opening up views of downtown Vancouver to the
West. Other existing structures have additional floors to accommodate residential or
community uses. The additional floors could be airy glass and steel structures on stilts
on top of existing buildings to avoid triggering seismic upgrades. The new elementary
Parker Street
school buildings take advantage of a 4 meter drop in elevation and could be cantile-
vered over a pond or wetland area at the bottom of the drop.
Of note, three new buildings close off alleys to Britannia along Napier Street. This
should improve the pedestrian experience on Napier, which is important given that
this is the main entrance currently to Britannia.

Net Change (m2)

Community 13,201
School 460
Napier Street Retail 2,277
Residential 13,936
Total 29,874

William Street

Commercial Drive
Woodland Drive

Legend
McLean Drive

Cotton Drive

New Buildings
Not to Scale Modifications to Existing Buildings

Heart of Grandview Design for Britannia Community Services Centre

Increase Density Daniella Fergusson
25 March 2010
 Description
One of the central design features of this site is the extensive use of bioswales around
the buildings, which capture runoff from streets and roofs. The swales take advantage
of the site’s contours and feed water into rain barrels and the constructed wetland at
the northeastern corner of Britannia. The swales could also be daylighted streams, as
historic river maps show many streams under the Britannia site.
As bioswales are vegetated, their inclusion on the Britannia site addresses a number
of community concerns. A major concern of community members is that Britannia
feels too paved, so increased vegetation creates a more natural environment on
the site. A second concern is that Britannia becomes very hot in the summer, as the
concrete buildings absorb and radiate heat, while there are not many shaded spots.
So, increased vegetation will temper the heat island effect of the concrete and asphalt
on site. A third benefit of this design is increased habitat space in Britannia.
Water from rain barrels, having been filtered on green roofs, can be used to irrigate
the community gardens and other natural planting on site. The constructed wetlands
can function as educational and recreational opportunities. For example, the pond
or wetland area on the northeastern corner of Britannia could become a popular
weekend destination, as the area is mainly residential and has a Farmers’ Market,
performing arts space, and a gallery.

Daylighted stream with bridge Green Roof

Legend
Stormwater Management System 2 meter contour line

Not to Scale Green Roofs

Heart of Grandview Design for Britannia Community Services Centre

Integrate Water Systems Daniella Fergusson
25 March 2010
 Venables Street
Description
To improve the pedestrian experience in Britannia, attract newcomers to visit from
Commercial Drive and Venables Street, create 24 hour uses, create community
functions on under-utilized land, and improve accessibility, this design integrates a
variety of uses into the Britannia site.
Commercial Drive is mainly a retail-oriented street with one, two, and three story
buildings. To improve the entrance from Commercial Drive into Britannia on Napier
Street, the centre’s main entrance, alleys have been blocked with ground floor social
Parker Street enterprise spaces and two floors of residential use. The social enterprises in this
location could be yoga studios and a food cooperative, because they would generate
income for the BCSC Society, fit into the existing commercial fabric on the Drive, and
bring in newcomers to Britannia. The retail uses on Parker Street could be sports-
oriented, as many of the recreational facilities are located nearby.
Venables Street is primarily a light industrial corridor. As the City of Vancouver seeks to
protect its rapidly dwindling industrial areas, it is important to maintain this use. The
Farmer’s Market is well-located on Venables, as delivery trucks can enter the parcel.
Industrial live-work units on Cotton Drive create another entrance to Britannia and
celebrate the street’s existing use.
Napier Street
The purpose of placing retail, social enterprise, and residential uses on the two arterials
surrounding Britannia is to attract newcomers to the site. Currently, Britannia is hidden
and many people do not know that it exists. A street front presence would make the
centre more noticeable.
More destinations are added to the site, including continuing education, a community
kitchen, more recreational facilities, an art gallery, and performing arts space.
The inclusion of residences in Britannia, though controversial as community members
fear privatizing public space, would make Britannia feel safer at night.
William Street Legend
School
BCSC Social/Learning Spaces Residential/Retail Mixed Use
BCSC Recreational Spaces Social Enterprise
Commercial Drive Residential Residential/Social Enterprise Mixed Use
Woodland Drive
McLean Drive

Cotton Drive

Residential/BCSC Mixed Use Light Industrial

Not to Scale Commercial Industrial Live-Work

Heart of Grandview Design for Britannia Community Services Centre Integrate Uses Daniella Fergusson
25 March 2010
 Venables Street

Parker Street

Detail Plan of residential area and constructed wetland

Napier Street

Commercial Drive
McLean Drive

Woodland Drive

William Street
Cotton Drive

Not to Scale

Detail Plan of Napier Street Entrance

Site Section looking North
Note: The site plan and site section were originally hand drawn at 1:400 scale

Heart of Grandview Design for Britannia Community Services Centre

Section & Detail Plans Daniella Fergusson
25 March 2010
 21 December, 12 p.m. 21 June, 12 p.m. 21 March, 12 p.m.

21 December, 3 p.m. 21 June, 3 p.m. 21 March, 3 p.m.

Heart of Grandview Design for Britannia Community Services Centre

Shadow Study Daniella Fergusson
25 March 2010
 Parker Street looking East

Napier Street looking South

Cotton Drive looking North

Heart of Grandview Design for Britannia Community Services Centre

3-D Views Daniella Fergusson
25 March 2010