VanAir Design, founded in 2013, is an industrial design firm whose flagship product, the Ventilated Door, is manufactured and distributed by Lynden Door out of Chilliwack. The door provides an airflow pathway to allow circulation in rooms with or without mechanical systems. This helps to reduce the amount of contaminants in the air and reduces the build-up of CO2.
The business started when two UBC students, Vick Yau and James Higgins met in an entrepreneurship course. Through the knowledge gained in the class, the two students identified a need in the market, which lead to the product concept for the Ventilated Door. After 8 months of development, the product received its first real-world application when it was installed in the Buchanan building at UBC, in non-ventilated offices. Prototypes were made at the UBC Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP).
While taking a tour of UBC, Lynden Door took notice of the unique product and quickly reached out to the VanAir principals to discuss larger scale production. Since that time, the Ventilated Door has gone on to receive notoriety by winning the IDS prototype event, an Architizer A+ award, and a recent contract for the renovated Vancouver Public Library.
VanAir continues to develop the product and has started research on making a fire-rated version of the door. To aid in this research, VanAir is reaching out to industry with a survey, offering a $10 coffee gift card for those knowledgeable on fire and smoke codes and building ventilation. To find out more about VanAir or Lynden Door, you can visit their websites at www.vanairdesign.com and www.lyndendoor.com or contact Vick Yau vick@vanairdesign.com or Al Jantzen al.jantzen@lyndendoor.com.