Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

University of British Columbia Starts Construction on Gateway Building

  • By Matt Jones
  • 01/05/23

The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, recently began construction on a new Gateway Building for the campus, according to local news. The $180-million mass timber building will stand six stories and cover about 267,000 square feet, and it will serve as the main point of entry to the campus as well as an academic building for a variety of subjects. Completion is scheduled for 2024, local news reports.

The university is partnering with architecture firm Perkins&Will for the building’s design. The firm’s website describes a central, daylit, six-story atrium featuring an interconnecting staircase and a variety of lounge spaces, as well as two five-story wings. The project’s sustainability goals include a minimum of LEED Gold and CAGBC Zero Carbon Building design certifications. The university also sought input from the indigenous Musqueam people, who own the land that the campus was built on.

“This was the first capital project where we did what we call ‘deep engagement’ with the Musqueam,” said Gerry McGeough, the university’s director of planning and design. “We went through a whole series of exploratory discussions with them where they defined what their values are they’d like to have embraced in this project.” The indigenous influence is most clearly seen in the building’s mass-timber interior.

Once complete, the new building will include research, teaching, and office space for the UBC Schools of Nursing and Kinesiology, the Faculty of Arts Language Sciences, UBC Health, and Integrated Health Services, according to the university website.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • University of Illinois Moves Forward with College Sports’ Largest Digital Scoreboard

    The University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill., recently announced a series of upgrades to Gies Memorial Stadium that will include the largest scoreboard in college sports, according to a news release.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • California School District Completes Elementary School Modernization

    The San Diego Unified School District in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting for a whole-site modernization of Pacific Beach Elementary School, according to local news. The school first opened with one building in 1930 and added six more between 1938 and 1957.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.