Press Release

PRESS RELEASE - Vancouver, BC - Construction leader, the Ledcor Group, is proud to announce that Burnaby’s SFU UniverCity Childcare Centre and the Vancouver VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitors Centre have achieved Petal Certification under the Living Building Challenge Standard. 

“These projects are the first commercial buildings in Canada to achieve this certification, as well as the first-ever projects in Canada to achieve the Materials Petal,” said Peter Hrdlitschka, President of Ledcor Construction Canada. “This recognition from the International Living Future Institute places these buildings alongside some of the most innovative in the world. I think I speak for everyone involved in these projects when I say we’re very proud.” 

The Living Building Challenge is regarded as the most stringent and innovative green building certification in the world, promoting living, regenerative buildings that produce more energy than they consume, avoid toxic chemicals, and incorporate natural, closed loop water systems. 

Categories in the Living Building Challenge are known as Petals, which are achieved by meeting all criteria within each category. Petal Certification is granted by satisfying the requirements of at least three of these seven Petals. Ledcor’s awarded projects received certification for the Site, Materials, Health, and Beauty Petals.   

Full Living Building status may yet be achieved for both of these projects as they continue to work towards demonstrating net zero energy and water consumption. 

Ledcor congratulates the owners and fellow team members whose vision and dedication helped make these projects a resounding success. 

Involved in VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitors Centre were:

• Vancouver Board of Parks & Recreation,

• Perkins + Will,

• Cobalt (now Integral Group)

• Fast & Epp 

The SFU UniverCity Childcare Centre team included:

• SFU Community Trust,

• Hughes Condon Marler Architects,

• Cobalt (now Integral Group),

• Fast & Epp

• MMM Group 

About Living Buildings 

The Living Building Challenge™ is a building certification program, advocacy tool and philosophy that defines the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment possible today and acts to rapidly diminish the gap between current limits and the end-game positive solutions we seek. 

The Challenge is comprised of seven performance categories called Petals: Place, Water, Energy, Health & Happiness, Materials, Equity and Beauty. Petals are subdivided into a total of twenty Imperatives, each of which focuses on a specific sphere of influence. This compilation of Imperatives can be applied to almost every conceivable building project, of any scale and any location—be it a new building or an existing structure.