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

  • Preparing for the Next Era of Healthcare Education, Innovation

    Across the country, public universities and community colleges are accelerating investments in healthcare education facilities as part of a broader strategy to address workforce shortages, modernize outdated infrastructure, and expand clinical training capacity. These projects, which are often located at the center of campus health and science districts, are no longer limited to traditional classrooms.

  • DLR Group Appoints New K–12 Education Practice Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has named its new global K–12 Education leader, Senior Principal Carmen Wyckoff, AIA, LEED AP, according to a news release. Her teams have members in all 36 of the firm’s offices in the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Europe, and Asia.

  • Massachusetts K–12 District Selects Architect for New Junior High

    Swansea Public Schools in Swansea, Mass., recently announced that it has selected Finegold Alexander Architects to design a new junior high school for the district, according to a news release. The firm will create the Feasibility Study and Schematic Design for Joseph Case Junior High School after a lengthy selection process by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

  • 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.

Digital Edition