It is a claim that makes Dr. John Robinson, the Executive Director of the UBC Sustainability Initiative, cringe just a little. “’Green’ is too narrow a term.” says Robinson, the man behind the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability, presently under construction on the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus. “And ’greenest’ is a moving target. Every week there is a new green building announced.”
No matter what you label CIRS--the greenest building, the most sustainable building, the leading regenerative and restorative building--, the implication is clear. This is an exciting building to watch.
When it opens in 2011, CIRS will be a “living laboratory” where professors, students and partners demonstrate leading-edge research and develop sustainable design practices, products, systems and policies. The building will push the frontiers of sustainable construction materials and building techniques. It will draw much of its heat from the ground, electricity from the sun, ventilation from the wind, water from the rain–all while reducing the university’s energy use and carbon footprint.
UBC just launched a new website for CIRS that features a new two-minute overview video. You can also find the video on UBC's YouTube channel.
Read more about Dr. Robinson’s thoughts on sustainable buildings and other sustainability related issues on his blog.
Stay up on the latest sustainability news by following sustainUBC on Twitter.