Vale Living with Lakes Centre
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| Vale Living with Lakes Centre | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed 2011 |
| Address | 840 Ramsey Lake Rd |
| Town or city | Sudbury, Ontario |
| Client | Laurentian University |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 2,643m² (28,441 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | JL. Richards & Associates and Busby Perkins & Will Architects |
| Structural engineer | JL. Richards & Associates |
| Civil engineer | JL. Richards & Associates |
| Website | |
| https://www3.laurentian.ca/livingwithlakes/ | |
The Vale Living with Lakes Centre is a research center for The Cooperative Freshwater Ecology Unit[1] in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The centre consists of 2 buildings totalling 2,643m² (28,441 sq ft). The 2 storey main building (2,125m² / 22,865 sq ft) contains offices, laboratories, and teaching/meeting spaces.[2] The second building also known as the Watershed Centre (518m² / 5,576 sq ft) contains field crew operations, storage, and specialized facilities.[2]
The Vale Living with Lakes Centre was designed by Peter Busby of Busby, Perkins + Will in collaboration with Jeff Laberge from J.L. Richards and Associates[3] who provided engineering and architectural services. The scientists and clients of the Living with Lakes Centre wanted the project to improve the site through the construction of the centre. Therefore, by designing with sustainable landscaping strategies and the design of stormwater management systems, the water leaves the site cleaner than when it entered ensuring the Living with Lakes Centre does not harm the waters of Lake Ramsey through its operation.[4]
The design team worked in collaboration with the scientists that would later occupy the building to optimize the architectural conditions to their standards to produce the Living with Lakes Centre. This integrated design process[5] required the equal input of people with engineering specialties, design specialties, and ecosystem regeneration specialties to benefit the project as a whole. During the design process the integrated group had two concepts that drove the project: good architecture equals good engineering and no one knows more than everyone.[5] These concepts provide insight into the thought process through the design and build of the Vale Living with Lakes Centre which reiterates the importance of an integrated design approach.
The city of Sudbury has a history of nickel and copper mining which resulted in environmental damage, including the clear-cutting of forests and acid rain.[6] Due to this mining history the vegetation in the region was damaged, and new vegetation could not grow in the acidic soil, resulting in the fauna in the area also being negatively impacted.[6] Also, the lakes and water systems in the area became acidified resulting in a drastic loss of biodiversity in the Sudbury area.
In the late 1970s, the City of Sudbury started regreening efforts in the city to remediate the damaged landscape through the human intervention of distributing lime across the barren landscape to balance the acidic soil to allow vegetation to grow once again.[7] The acidification of lakes in the area due to acid rain resulted in a lack of biology making it an obvious choice for the research of lake remediation. Thus resulting in the Vale Living with Lakes Centre[2] which houses the Cooperative Freshwater Ecology Unit.[8]
The Cooperative Freshwater Ecology Unit was in need of a new office space for research after the old 1940’s cabins they used for research became too run down.[2] This group researches stressors that can affect the health of water-based ecosystems in the North which includes climate change, invasive species, and loss of biodiversity,[9] making Ramsey Lake in Sudbury a great location for research.
