Tours 2011
Please note: program agenda, topics and speakers subject to change.
Sunday, May 8, 2010 | 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm | Fun Tour
Burnaby Village Museum - Transport yourself to the 1920s
Stroll down the streets of a 1920s village exploring at your own pace. The village is a combination of heritage and replica buildings on a 10-acre site that represents a typical tram-stop community along the B.C. Electric Railway. Period costumed townsfolk welcome visitors and give demonstrations in the homes, businesses and shops. Popular stops include the blacksmith, the print shop, the garden at the farmhouse and the General Store.
The recently restored Interurban #1223 is truly elegant. This tram is part of the area's rich public transportation history. It ran on the interurban lines in Burnaby until the mid-fifties. An exciting must for every visitor is a whirl on the historic 1912 CW Parker Carousel. Rides are accompanied by music from a 1925 Wurlitzer band organ.
Technical Tour 1
Seymour-Capilano Filtration Plant
Tour Canada's newest and largest filtration plant at the Seymour Reservoir. Commissioned in 2009 as a result of aging existing facilities, turbidity events and increased population, this facility filters up to 1.8 billion litres of water per day to serve two million residents within the Lower Mainland. The Seymour-Capilano filtration plant services both the Seymour and Capilano watersheds, connected through 7.1 km, 3.8 m diameter, twin tunnels. The twin tunnels are still under construction with a tunnel boring machine, encountering challenging ground conditions that include bedrock as well as soft materials 160-640 metres below the ground surface. The filtration plant facilities at Seymour, together with the adjacent underground water storage reservoirs, the overflow pond and two stormwater ponds, encompass a space of approximately nine hectares.
Technical Tour 2
Tommy Douglas Library Tour
The new Tommy Douglas Library has been built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards, governed by the Canadian/US Green Building Council. LEED encourages and accelerates global adoption of the sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria.
The following are some of the green features of the Tommy Douglas Library.
- Redeveloped Site - This redevelopment provided new life to an existing underused site.
- Alternative Transportation - Good access to public transportation and ample spaces for secured bike parking.
- Green Roofs - The two portions of lower level roofs are planted with various species that provide a natural habitat, delay rainwater discharge and reduce the overall heat island effect on the building, while the upper high roof has a highly reflective coating that also helps to reduce the heat gain inside the building.
- Radiant Heating - the main floor of the library has an in-slab radiant heading system, which is highly efficient in maintaining temperatures at t constant level.
- Geothermal System - A total of 21 wells are drilled to a depth of 225 feet below ground, the wells harvest the latent energy from the earth to provide the building with additional heating or cooling.
- Water Recycling - Rainwater is collected from the roof, contained in an underground cistern tank, then used to irrigate the landscaping.
- Natural Day-lighting - Large windows and carefully controlled lighting means much of the building requires little artificial light.
- Direct Digital Control Building Management System - Computer control for the thermal, ventilation and lighting systems allow maintenance staff to remotely monitor and control the building.
