Supersmall’s proposal for the Vancouver 2030 Challenge competition aims to change the view that we somehow stand outside, or apart from, nature.

Their project imagines infrastructure as eco connectors throughout the city. The program requirements included an animal rehabilitation center. This eco-connector understands that the rehabilitation of the individual organism is synonymous with a healthy system.

‘Just as a brain creates more connections as it learns, we hope the city will do the same as it grows by reconnecting and strengthening our urban ecology -animals, plants and humans- symbiotically.’

The seed bank storage is located underneath the main public area because seeds require a highly controlled (cool, dark and dry) environment. They are organized in small drawers so they may be easily managed. This is the vault where the genetic diversity of Vancouver’s flora is ensured for future generations.

Site Plan:

From Supersmall:

‘The ideas present in this project attempt to shake a widely held premise that we somehow stand outside, or apart from, nature. Not only are we
a part of nature, we are an important part of the whole system. Thoreau once wrote: ‘In wildness is the preservation of the world.’ A century later, when many places were no more, Wendell Berry has proposed this necessary corollary: ‘In human culture is the preservation of wildness.’ This statement sums up a philosophy of stewardship that drives the design—creating the literal continuity of an ecosystem as an expression of the larger conviction that there is continuity between the human and the natural world. The project begins to imagine infrastructure as eco connectors throughout the city.

Section A: Animal Triage:

Section B: Adult Overnight Adventure:

Section C: Bat Habitat:

The program requirements included an animal rehabilitation center. This eco-connector understands that the rehabilitation of the individual organism is synonymous with a healthy system. Just as a brain creates more connections as it learns, we hope the city will do the same as it grows by reconnecting and strengthening our urban ecology—animals, plants and humans -symbiotically.’

Section D: Seed Bank:

Section E: Kitchen:

Further information about this project: www.formshiftvancouver.com.

The competition FormShift Vancouver included three competition categories:

1. Vancouver Primary – design for a mixed use primary (arterial) site along a major Vancouver street that includes a rapid transit station.

2. Vancouver Secondary – design for small secondary (residential) site in an established Vancouver neighborhood near public transit.

3. Vancouver Wild Card – a design that pushes the envelope of sustainable design and community building for Vancouver.

All winning entries: www.formshiftvancouver.com.

All submitted projects: www.formshiftvancouver.com.