GREEN BUILDING Peter Busby, Perkins+Will, Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability, Vancouver Located at the University of British Co- lumbia (UBC), the Centre for Interactive Re- search on Sustainability (CIRS) is designed to be the most sustainable building in North America. CIRS houses 200 re- searchers from private, public, and non- government organization sectors, who work together to advance innovation in sustainable technology and building prac- tices, and to create a springboard for their widespread implementation. The 5,675 sq. m. ‘living lab’ is organized into two four-storey wings, linked by an atrium, and includes academic offices, meeting rooms, ‘social condenser’ spaces, and a day-lit 450-seat auditorium. During the design of CIRS, both the ecological and human health impacts of the project’s building materials, as well as the visual and tactile expression of the materials, were considered along with cost, durability, and maintenance requirements. In response, wood, one of the most sustainable materials in the world, was chosen as the primary building material. Designed to exceed LEED Platinum status and registered with the Living Building Challenge, CIRS was designed to be ‘net positive’ in seven different ways: Net-positive energy; structural carbon neutrality; op- erational carbon; net-zero water; turning passive occupants into active inhabitants; promoting health and productivity; and promoting happiness. RESIDENTIAL WOOD DESIGN Kimberley Smith, Helliwell + Smith Blue Sky Architecture, Solar Crest, Sidney Island Embracing a rugged rocky ridge on a re- mote island in Juan de Fuca Strait, Solar Crest is a completely off-grid home and garden. In section and plan, it combines a studied geo- metric formality with organic and sensuous elements that merge with its surrounding landscape of rounded glaciated granite. The building is off all energy grids and is oriented to maximize solar gain. Twenty-six solar photovoltaic panels power the home and five cisterns collect rainwater from roof surfaces for all domestic and landscape uses and for fire-fighting. The inclusion of alterna- tive energy systems enable the home to be situated in a stunningly beautiful, remote landscape completely free of organized en- ergy grids and dependent only on the natural cycles surrounding it. The Canadian Design and Construction Report — Spring 2013 – 67