2nd Day of Living Future 2011

The 2nd day of Living Future 2011 started at 7am with a nice buffet breakfast followed by the morning plenary by Jason F. McLennan, one of the most influential people in today's green building movement. He gave a strong presentation, inspiring everyone with his ideas and innovations in sustainable design.

I was already impressed with the diversity of the attendees, young and old, salesmen, technologists, engineers, writers, contractors, buyers, architects, the list goes on. It was great to meet people and talk about green buildings, biotecture, alternative energies, and best of all our own city! It's amazing how mature our young city appears, with regard to our use of renewable energy and the efficiency of some of our modern buildings. Vancouver has always been utilizing hydroelectric power and has recently stepped up to the wind energy game with Grouse Mountain's 200-foot tall wind turbine and projects like Naikun Wind Energy's offshore wind farm. Green roofs and rooftop gardens have been popular in this city for quite some time and now ideas like urban farming and living walls are favored.

Today I attended two 2-hour class sessions, the first being Renovation Revolution : Quantifying the value of building reuse. It talked about really looking at all the factors when deciding to renovate a building or tear it down and build a new one. Factors such as building efficiency, type of occupant, imported materials, energy requirements, local workers and urban impact among others. The instructors made it easy to understand and encouraged participation and conversation around the classroom. This session really opened me up to the analysis and considerations that must go into a building renovation or new construction.

After an offsite lunch at V Restaurant in Yaletown, I returned the the Sheraton Wall Centre to attend my afternoon class, The Red List and Beyond : Engaging to find Healthy Materials and Transform the Industry. This course was a great introduction to the Red List and the intentions behind it. The Red List is a list of materials and chemicals that we definitely do not want in our buildings, such as asbestos, formaldehyde, mercury and lead. This session brought out some great minds and resulted in a lively discussion about how to best regulate these Red List standards and how to persuade both manufacturers and consumers to adopt these logical practices.

I was unable to attend the Big Bang Awards Dinner or the 2nd day of classroom sessions, but I was impressed with what I did experience at this years Living Future Conference. Thanks to the girls at the Sheraton for taking care of this one, and I am seriously thinking about dropping the $700 to attend World Future 2011 and/or Living Future 2012.