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The Rain Courtyard creates a year-round outdoor living room alongside the Arbutus Greenway community gardens.  

OBSERVATION // During nice weather, the Greenway is well-used by people of all ages. Residents have incrementally added to the greenway with the addition of lawn chairs, picnic benches, DIY bee houses. Based on furniture placement, people naturally gather in groups of 4 to 6. During rainy season, the Greenway becomes a desolate landscape strewn with abandoned lawn chairs... 

PROPOSAL // The Rain Courtyard extends the enjoyment of the Greenway with an expressive and purposeful roof canopy. In addition to providing shelter for visitors, the Rain Courtyard creates a multi-sensory experience of rain as a sculptural rain collector. The simple sloping roof form is sculpted to channel rain water into curtains of different densities and intensities. The rainwater is then collected and used in maintaining the adjacent garden plots. 

SITE // A former railway stretching 8.5km, the Arbutus Greenway is an important north-south corridor that connects people, parks, and places from False Creek to the Fraser River. Since its opening in 2016, the greenway quickly became one of the most popular public spaces in Vancouver. Along the greenway, there are zones dedicated to community gardens. Community gardens are important social and educational spaces that foster pride in communities.