In late 2022, The Leaf, a greenhouse and interactive horticultural attraction, was unveiled in Winnipeg, Canada, to generate more local produce amidst extreme weather conditions.
With more advanced sustainability initiatives on the rise, The Leaf takes low-energy consumption, and low tech climate control solutions to new heights. A team of architects comprising Toronto-based KPMB, Architecture49, Blackwell Structural Engineers and HTFC Planning & Design worked on the manifestation of the main pavilion over the course of 12 years. This expansive indoor-outdoor development boasts a central 7,840 sq-m greenhouse featuring two distinct climate regulated biomes, a butterfly garden, teaching kitchens, classrooms, event space and a top ranking restaurant that sources its produce from the 12,000 available plantings.
The entire development extends outward with manicured gardens, an amphitheatre and collaboratively programmed grounds that bring recognition to the indigenous cultures of the area. Each design was carefully curated to mimic natural processes of nature and plants. The roof unfurls like pedals on a flower and is constructed using an innovative material called Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a flexible, lightweight, ‘breathing skin’ material that achieves impressive thermal performance. This double-layered film takes in pumped air at different intervals to regulate the space’s temperature. The material also allows for the structure of the greenhouse to take in maximum light that a glass installation would have otherwise blocked. This dynamic structure and the multipronged programming it facilitates community engagement and connection with nature, and can serve as an example to other cities impacted by harsh climate.
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