Hidden behind the rolling fog and dense forests of Indian Arm Provincial Park lie the time-worn hydroelectric generating stations of Buntzen Lake. Built in 1903, Buntzen was the first hydroelectric facility in British Columbia and has supplied Vancouver with inexpensive, sustainable electricity for over a century. Today, much of this infrastructure has gone offline, leaving behind an impressive legacy of unique hydropower structures in desperate need of a new life.
Buntzen?s structures have become symbols of place identity. They preserve memory, help us shape our understanding of the past and offer a site of new possibilities for future generations. While never intended for people, this remarkable network of buildings, tunnels, and turbines contain rare spaces with qualities not replicable in new construction. Electric Space proposes a phased adaptive reuse strategy that reimagines Buntzen?s decommissioned hydroelectric facilities as conduits for newly emergent, renewable energy industries and programmatic opportunities. Phase 1  CATALYST responds to the Provincial Park?s lack of a formal entry and suggests transforming the powerhouse into a hybrid building that combines a park visitors? centre with a micro algae research facility. In hybridizing these two programs, the Powerhouse Research and Visitor?s Centre serves as a catalyst for new programmatic development throughout the park, while preserving the site?s legacy of renewable energy production.
Phase 2  CONNECTION tr...