VANCOUVER—You can't talk about architecture in Vancouver without talking about sustainability. But Friday's CreativeMornings/Vancouver wasn't all about what we're doing right. It was also about what we're doing wrong.

Darryl Condon is a partner in Vancouver architecture firm Hughes Condon Marler Architects (HCMA). Condon opened his talk by telling the audience that he is a "glass half full guy." But he had to admit that our efforts in North America can often be a drop in the bucket of global sustainability.


In North America, we've become very good at green architecture, with the certification bodies  (LEED, Green Globes, Energy Star, etc.) leading the way. However, Condon paired this optimistic statement with one that tempered it: all of the energy that has been saved by LEED certified buildings in Canada have been completely offset by the number of new cars being put on the road in India — and that's just one example.

Condon also wanted to make clear that "sustainability" is made up of three areas: environmental, social, and economic. The work done at HCMA focuses on social sustainability. Condon noted that over time, city dwellers have given up public space to the private sector. We've turned the town square into the shopping mall. Condon would like to see a shift towards inclusive, democratic spaces where people can gather — an example of social sustainability.

Condon said that we "need living, diverse, democratic, inclusive, healthy, and celebration spaces". These are the points that HCMA aims to achieve with each new community centre, recreation centre or library they design. And for a building to be truly sustainable, it must be accessible to all types of needs and abilities.

Condon wanted everyone in the audience to think about how they can go beyond simply meeting codes and requirements to make something "green" or "accessible," and strive towards the complete meaning of the word sustainability in all the work that we do.

For more photos from the session, click here.