North America’s largest panelized wood structure, the 17,500-m2 (188,368-sf) Earth Sciences Building (ESB) at the University of British Columbia (UBC), was officially opened in November in Vancouver, B.C.
The $75-million, five-storey facility was designed by Perkins+Will and Equilibrium Consulting and includes laboratories, a lecture hall complex, and computer lab spaces. The focal point of the structure is a free-floating, cantilevered solid timber staircase.
Wood was chosen as the primary building material for ESB because of its sustainable properties and ability to provide an inviting atmosphere within the educational facility. Perkins+Will, who also designed UBC’s Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability, have a relationship with the university in terms of sustainable designs and materials for structures on campus.
“As a major contributor to the overall performance of the building, wood-based structural systems can greatly reduce a project’s carbon footprint,” Perkins+Will’s Jana Foit told Construction Canada Online. “Wood as the primary structural material was selected for ESB as it boasts the lowest embodied energy of typical building materials and can significantly reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) created through the manufacturing and construction process.”
The building will provide 7000 graduate and undergraduate students with research and study space in addition to the labs and lecture halls. It houses the Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences offices, Department of Statistics, Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences, the Office of the Dean of Science, and the Pacific Museum of the Earth.
