New park planned for green roof of Vancouver Convention Centre | Daily Hive

Vancouver Convention Centre's six-acre green roof set for public park transformation

Not the final design; preliminary conceptual artistic rendering of the public park transformation of the green rooftop park of Vancouver Convention Centre's West Building. (Pavco)

Happy April Fools’ Day!

Downtown Vancouver’s Central Waterfront is set to gain a new massive public space, as the Vancouver Convention Centre’s landmark living green roof will undergo a transformation into an elevated urban public park.

Ever since it was completed in 2009, the West Building of the convention centre, distinct for its six-acre green roof, has been a landmark companion to the five sails of Canada Place.

Pavco, the provincial Crown corporation that operates the convention centre, is proposing to open up seamless public access to its green roof, effectively converting it into a public park.

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This will effectively nearly double the area’s waterfront green spaces, with the 7.6-acre Harbour Green Park situated just to the west of the West Building.

“Turning this iconic green roof into a public park is about more than access — it’s about leading by example. We’re showing how green infrastructure can serve both the environment and the community,” said Ethen K. Trenchey, the vice president of signature experiences for Pavco, in a statement.

“By opening this space, we’re inviting people to experience sustainability firsthand — not as a concept, but as a place they can walk through, relax in, and connect with. It’s a step toward a future where green design isn’t hidden or exclusive, but integrated into everyday urban life.”

vancouver convention centre green roof park april fools

Not the final design; preliminary conceptual artistic rendering of the public park transformation of the green rooftop park of Vancouver Convention Centre’s West Building. (Pavco)

Access to the green roof is currently limited to maintenance workers and authorized staff. When viewed from above, its rolling green hills follow the roof’s grading, and plant species can be seen covering the landscape.

Over a decade and a half ago, 400,000 individual native plants and 128 kg of seeds were planted across the roof, which has a layer of soil — a growing medium mixture of topsoil, lava rock, and gravel — that is six inches (15 cm) deep.

Integral to the transformation, gently winding pathways — echoing the natural curves of creeks and rivers — will be installed, crafted from durable, lightweight wood that evokes the charm of classic boardwalks. Additionally, seating will be thoughtfully placed along the pathways, offering spots for rest, quiet contemplation, and the enjoyment of views of the urban greenery, harbour, and mountains.

Visitors to the new park are expected to stay on the pathways, except in a few small designated areas where walking on the grass is permitted. For safety, perimeter fencing will be installed along the entire edge of the roof, with additional railings provided along pathways that have steeper grades or are adjacent to drop-offs.

The slope of the roof ranges between three per cent and 56 per cent. Some areas of the roof will remain off limits.

Not the final design; preliminary conceptual artistic rendering of the west entrance’s staircase and elevator to the green rooftop park of Vancouver Convention Centre’s West Building. (Pavco)

Not the final design; preliminary conceptual artistic rendering of the public park transformation of the green rooftop park of Vancouver Convention Centre’s West Building. (Pavco)

Additionally, a pavilion structure will be added to the rooftop to house a new upscale destination restaurant.

Located in an existing gravel area adjacent to the current rooftop maintenance entrance, the 5,000 sq. ft. indoor restaurant will open onto multiple outdoor patios — including one on the pavilion’s rooftop — and will accommodate approximately 120 indoor seats and up to 50 outdoor seats.

The restaurant will also expand the convention centre’s event space offerings, including as an additional venue for weddings, while serving as a year-round revenue generator to support the upkeep and security of the publicly accessible rooftop and to attract interest and foot traffic.

Public access to the rooftop park will be provided from the construction of two new entrances from the Canada Place Way sidewalk — one at the west end next to Jack Poole Plaza and the other at the east end next to the foot of Thurlow Street. Both entrances will feature a grand staircase and an elevator, reaching up to five storeys high.

Proposed concept for a floating hotel at the Vancouver Convention Centre’s West Building, which features a green roof. (Sunborn International Holding)

The existing green roof at the Vancouver Convention Centre’s West Building. (Vancouver Convention Centre)

“Where else can you attend a global conference and then step outside onto a rooftop meadow?” said Corey Winch, the director of immersive experiences and placemaking for Destination Vancouver.

“This park will be a powerful draw for visitors looking for unique, urban green spaces. This project turns an architectural landmark into an eco-tourism destination that reflects the city’s values.”

The installation of pathways and a small portion of the restaurant footprint will reduce the roof’s grassy surface area by only about five per cent.

Originally designed as an environmental feature, the roof helps reduce the energy consumption of the vast building while supporting biodiversity in the dense urban environment. When the roof was first completed, it was the largest roof of its kind in Canada and the largest non-industrial roof in North America.

The existing rooftop’s vegetation and layer of soil act as an insulator that reduces the building interior’s summer heat by up to 95 per cent and winter heat losses by up to about 25 per cent. Furthermore, the green roof reduces downtown Vancouver’s urban heat island effect, and the vegetation and soil serve to filter and purify rainwater for reuse. This rainwater is further treated through the building’s black water treatment system, allowing it to be reused for toilet flushing and rooftop irrigation during warmer months.

vancouver convention centre grass roof mowing

Annual mowing of the green roof of the Vancouver Convention Centre’s West Building. (Kenneth Chan)

Over time, the roof has evolved into a natural habitat for insects, including ants, damselflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers, and spiders, as well as various bird species, such as finches, geese, juncos, sparrows, and seagulls. Four beehives, home to European honey bees, also reside on the roof and supply honey to the convention centre’s kitchen.

The beehives will be relocated to a secluded, off-limits area of the rooftop park, where they will be seamlessly incorporated into a new public art sculpture that honours and celebrates the vital role of bees in the ecosystem. This public art piece will be admired from a distance.

The new, relatively minor installations for the park, including the pathways, will be added in a way that limits its intrusiveness to not only the greenery, but also the underlying waterproofing membrane below the thick layer of soil.

The green roof is already equipped with an Electric Field Vector Mapping system, which uses a low-voltage leak detection method by creating an electrical potential difference between the non-conductive membrane surface and the soil layer. This allows the convention centre’s maintenance crews to locate any leaks.

The relatively minor changes are not expected to impact the lifespan of the waterproofing membrane of the green roof, which typically lasts twice as long as membranes for conventional roofing.

While the green roof is set to become a public park, visitors should not expect manicured grassy lawns.

The roof will continue the operational practice of being mowed and trimmed just once each year — in October, at the end of the growing season. This will ensure the rooftop continues to serve its intended primary purposes of being a natural habitat and reducing the building’s energy use.

Some of the vegetation grows as high as six feet each year, such as the aster plants. During the annual mowing process, which takes about two weeks and involves a crew of about eight landscapers, over 11,000 lbs. of grasses and plants are trimmed. No pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers are used, and most of the clippings from the annual trim are composted back into the soil as a fertilizer.

vancouver convention centre green roof mowing

Annual mowing of the green roof of the Vancouver Convention Centre’s West Building. (Kenneth Chan)

In addition to signage, constant on-site security personnel, and strategically positioned railings, the growth of the tall grasses and plants is expected to help encourage visitors to stay on the pathways. There will also be ample CCTV.

The entire public park project is estimated to cost approximately $90 million, with a significant portion attributed to the engineering complexities of constructing the vertical access points — staircases and the elevator — from street level on the existing Canada Place Way viaduct.

Construction is expected to begin by late 2027 — after that year’s mowing — for a completion by Fall 2028, with the new vertical access points being the most time-intensive component of the project.

While preliminary design concepts have been created, a Request For Proposal (RFP) seeks a design-build contractor, including an architectural firm and a landscape architecture firm.

This park on the green roof will be open year-round, with daily opening hours starting at 9 a.m. and a partial closing at sunset. After sunset, the most direct pathway between the entrances and the restaurant will remain open and be fully illuminated; all other pathways will be closed.

When the park is fully closed overnight, after the restaurant closes, access to the staircases and elevator will be securely locked. During busy periods, access will be controlled to ensure safe occupancy levels on the rooftop. The park could also see temporary closures for events held at the convention centre.

Technically, this will be a publicly accessible private green space operated by Pavco, and it will not be part of the municipal government’s official parks system. The building is owned by the provincial government.

As an urban park, the approach to grass and plant maintenance may evolve over time. Notably, as part of its ecological showcase, there will be a renewed exploration of using a small herd of grazing goats for the annual trim — not entirely dissimilar to the well-known rooftop goats at The Old Country Market in Coombs on Vancouver Island. This potential goat method for the convention centre’s green roof was last announced in early April 2015 for a pilot project that was to be conducted in October of that year, but it never went ahead for unspecified reasons.

As Vancouver grows in population and densifies, there’s a constant push and pull between keeping space for nature and making outdoor spaces for people to enjoy. With less space to go around, it is increasingly important to find a balance — protecting green areas for ecology while also creating places where people can relax, meet, and enjoy the outdoors. Good planning and smart design are key to making sure the city stays livable and healthy for everyone, both now and in the future.

Other notable examples of accessible large rooftop park spaces include the rooftop of Marina Barrage in Singapore and the upcoming nine-acre public park atop the new Oakridge Park mall. The project also takes some inspiration from the recently completed Little Island park on the Hudson River in Manhattan.

Marina Barrage in Singapore. (Komushiru/Shutterstock)

Marina Barrage in Singapore. (Ching Yun Song/Shutterstock)

Marina Barrage in Singapore. (Yasemin Ozdemir/Shutterstock)

oakridge park oakridge centre mall 2022 rendering

2022 artistic rendering of the revised design of the rooftop public park of the Oakridge Park redevelopment. (Westbank/QuadReal Property Group)

Little Island park in Manhattan, New York City. (Creative Family/Shutterstock)

Little Island park in Manhattan, New York City. (Kenneth Chan)

Happy April Fools’ Day!

Editor’s note: This article is part of Daily Hive Urbanized’s annual April Fools’ tradition.

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