Menu

The Living Building Challenge is a sustainable building framework that aligns with CBT values and vision.

The Living Building Challenge provides a sustainable framework for designing and constructing the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Centre and cultivates a symbiotic relationship between people, communities, and nature. Living Buildings are regenerative, provide innovation and inspiration in every part of their construction, engage users with the building and connect people to culture and art. Living Buildings are self-sufficient holistic systems that generate energy with renewable resources and capture water for use. They operate efficiently and with maximum beauty. A Living Building will manifest the values and vision of CBT and create net positive benefits for the climate and communities, with relevant targets decades into the future!

The Centre has the potential to reframe what's possible in this region for sustainable buildings and drive higher levels of performance in green buildings and communities and inspire innovation globally among the UNESCO-designated Biosphere Regions.

Living Building Petals

A flower is used as a metaphor for LBC and is based on 7 core performance areas called petals: place, water, energy, materials, health and happiness, equity, and beauty. 

Some petals require projects to generate energy, capture water, and process waste yet some solutions are not always within a project property boundary. To address these realities, LBC allows multiple buildings or projects to operate in a cooperative state, sharing green infrastructure and allowing for environmental and social benefits to be achieved as elegantly and efficiently as possible.

Photography: Jeremy Koreski

Leading the Way

LBC defines today's most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment. It pulls together the most progressive thinking from architecture, engineering, planning, interiors, landscape design, and policy. It challenges us to ask these questions:

What if every single act of design and construction made the world a better place? What if every intervention resulted in greater biodiversity and social equity; additional outlets for beauty and personal expression; a deeper understanding of climate, culture, and place; a realignment of our food and transportation systems; increased soil health and a more profound sense of what it means to be a citizen of a planet where resources and opportunities are provided fairly and equitably?

Photography: Jeremy Koreski

Sustainability

The Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Centre will balance environmental, economic, social and cultural targets that reflect our region.

Cultural: The Centre will provide opportunities for sharing education, dialogue, and cultural heritage in a permanent space.

Social: The Centre will be a welcoming space to connect communities, built to advance social equity.

Environmental: The Centre will shine a light on the evolution of the Biosphere Region and sustainably built buildings that regenerate the environment.

Economic: The Centre will offer opportunities to diversify economies, support social ventures, and invest in social procurement.