Biosphere

After the Biodome, we went to the Biosphere, also in Montreal. The building is literally a sphere. This is a museum run by Environment Canada so with out passes we got in for free. All the exhibits in some way raised environmental issues and the impact humans are having on the Earth. There were some exhibits about issues with global warming like the melting of ice caps causing polar bears to go hunting through human garbage since they can't reach their usual meal of seals. The pictures below are from an exhibit of dresses made out of recycled material.

Made out of computer wires, mice, and keyboards.

Made out of almost 7,000 empty pill bottles.

Made out of 2,000 shotgun shells.

The building itself was very ecofriendly. The picture below is from the lookout level, surrounded by the sphere. Here there were some wind turbines. The museum also has a geothermal system to save energy, a water treatment plant that consists of wetland basins to clean wastewater, and it also has greenery and plants covering the roof. The museum encourages the use of planted roofs in urban areas for advantages like dampening noise, increasing energy efficiency and purifying air and water.

The group at the lookout.

This is a photo of the Biosphere and in front of it is an ecological solar house, designed by engineering and architecture students at the University of Montreal for an international Solar Decathlon. We got a tour of the house; outside sat an electric car and the roof was covered in solar panels to produce electricity for the house. It also had green landscaping on the roof like the Biosphere has, and every material used in the house was chosen for a balance of performance with materials that were recycled or not chemically treated, etc.

Solar House at the Biosphere