Inspired by: Vancouver Centre West

When I first saw images of the six-acre living roof of the Vancouver Convention Centre West (designed by DA Architects + Planners in collaboration with others) what struck me wasn’t just the visual impact, but the way it merges aesthetics and economics.

See images of the design and more information on DA Architect's website, here. The image featured for this post is also credited to that website.

Here’s why this matters for landscape design.. and why people should care, regardless of whether or not they consider themselves ‘environmentalists’.

Beauty That Builds Value

At Studio Twig we speak the language of refined, elegant outdoor spaces: sculptural plantings, thoughtful materials, tailored details. A living roof or lush vertical green façade elevates the architecture and the landscape. Consider how the Vancouver roof “acts as an insulator during the summer and winter, while also providing an urban habitat along the coast.”

In experiential terms, when you step into a garden with generous layers of planting (groundcover, shrubs, even small trees) you’re conveying abundance and intention. It’s not just “green”; it’s living architecture. And that perception boosts brand, property value, and long-term appeal.

Sustainability Writ Large- and Savings in Dollars

Beyond “nice to have,” the green roof (and by extension, high-density planting strategies) deliver actual energy savings. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, green roofs can reduce the cooling loads of a building significantly: for example, surface temperatures of conventional roofs may be over 50 °F higher than green-roof surfaces, which means that green-roof buildings can reduce cooling needs.

Moreover: a study found that green roofs and “cool roofs” can reduce a building’s HVAC energy consumption by more than 65% in some climates.

Here’s how that translates:

• Lower heating/cooling bills for a building with green infrastructure.

• Improved budgeting certainty: less volatility in energy cost line-items.

• Long-term maintenance savings. A living roof insulates, protects the roof membrane, prolongs lifespan of the roof structure.

• Market differentiation: high-end clients increasingly expect sustainable features; you can forward this as a premium design offering (“we deliver beauty and performance”)

So while the story is ecological, the selling point can absolutely be financial. Homeowners or commercial clients: by investing in a plant-rich rooftop or vertical façade, you not only enhance the experience- you lock in cost-savings and asset value.

Beyond the Roof: Plant-Rich Architecture at Every Scale

While the Vancouver project is a powerful example, it’s one node in a larger story: we’re in an era that welcomes the merging of garden, façade, and built form. Think: entire skyscrapers draped in trees and shrubs (see Bosco Verticale in Milan).

In landscape design, this means:

• Offering clients vertical greening- not just patios and lawns. Living walls, façade planting, rooftop trees.

• Designing layered planting systems that become part of the building’s envelope: shade, insulation, micro-climate.

• Leveraging BIG vision for “plant-rich architecture” so that we aren’t just creating “gardens” but fundamentally contributing to building performance and experience.

And, while these are big-scale examples, the same logic applies to smaller residential or boutique commercial projects: the more thoughtful plant integration (roof, façade, terrace, garden room), the more value is amplified.

Conclusion: Plant-Rich Design as Smart Business

In the premium landscape design sector, we often talk about beauty, craft, mood- rightly so. But when we add the layer of performance (energy savings, asset value, budget stability) we enter a new territory: design as strategic investment.

The Vancouver Convention Centre West shows us what’s possible: a vast living roof, bee hives, rain-water capture, seawater heating/cooling, a layered marine habitat. It also signals that landscape architecture is no longer the add-on. It’s the envelope, the machine, the brand.

Landscape Design Community: we don’t need to just craft gardens; we can design smart, beautiful, living systems. We can build beauty into energy, value into habitat, refinement into sustainability. For people who care about performance, budgets, branding and legacy- in addition to aesthetics- this is the differentiated offering.