Sechelt Water Resource Centre
Budget $25 M
Size 1,800 SM / 19,375 SF
Recognition AIBC LG Innovation Award

The front of house, at grade along Surf Circle, welcomes school tour groups and other visitors with the bright greenhouse. The back of house, a full story drop in elevation, shields the neighbourhood from the sights, sounds, and smells associated with a district utility. On a broader scale, the facility discharges ten times less waste solids into Trail Bay, creating a cleaner offshore environment. The biosolids from the process are now composted and can be sold commercially as a soil amendment.

This centre combines water treatment with public education and professional training.

The public comes to learn, train, and connect with nature. With fun and concise didactic panels, school groups are able to learn about water bears and other beneficial critters that help in the hydrological cycle.

Across the nation (and globe), the pressures of longer, drier summers will increase many industry-related demands that can be met with non-potable water. Within these conditions, the value of the design of the Sechelt Water Resource Centre becomes particularly relevant. The facility currently reduces water consumption by 69% over a conventional facility and uses reclaimed waste water on site for non-potable functions such as flushing toilets and urinals, watering the park and washing down the facility. There is an intention to use the reclaimed water off-site for local gravel mining and agriculture.

The District of Sechelt’s decision to manage waste in its own backyard has resulted in the availability of reused water at its source, rather than pumping it back from an extended pipe network – an energetically intensive process – effectively closing the water loop.

The centre’s interior has two main components – the office and the greenhouse space. Offices are designed to maximize natural light and views to the marsh and greenhouse and fresh air via operable windows.

At the former wastewater management facility, staff members were responsible for cleaning the malodourous open-air separation tanks. These same people are now responsible for tending to the roses, tomatoes and other plants flourishing in the greenhouse. They are connected to rather than segregated from their community through the building location and its openness to the public.

The transparent greenhouse space reflects the rooflines and volumes of the residential streetscapes while showcasing these one-of-a-kind processes.

By integrating the facility with the surrounding parks and using a visually-arresting organic process, community members can visit the courtyard, see the process in action from the initial stages to the final indirect potable water production.