Award

DECEMBER 2019 | 33 Student Union Building – Simon Fraser University RENDERINGS COURTESY PERKINS AND WILL Student Union Building – Simon Fraser University by NATALIE BRUCKNER T he beautiful five-storey Student Union Building (SUB) at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Burnaby, B.C., is a project by students, for students. The 110,000-square-foot LEED Gold targetted building will be entirely devoted to students and fea- ture lounges, study areas, meeting rooms, and recreational facilities. The SUB even includes a napping room, an online gaming lounge, music rooms, and a live performance stage . . . all the result of student feedback. "The SUB is the Simon Fraser Student Society's [SFSS] response to six years of consistent student requests for improvements to facilities and stu- dent life. In 2012 we held a referendum and students voted in support of the SUB. It couldn't have happened without their support and is the first SUB for the University," explains Shina Kaur, SFSS's VP of University Relations. From the very start, student input was integral to ensure the success of the project. Even the location of the building was the direct result of stu- dent feedback. "We had a few locations in mind, but students voted to have the SUB located on the south side of Freedom Square between the Maggie Benston Centre and the Academic Quadrangle [AQ], which turned out to be an excellent choice as the building now connects to the AQ on one side and a bridge to the pub on the other side," says Kaur. Being a sloped infill site in a central campus location of course posed the usual laydown challenges, but noth- ing out of the ordinary for Pro-Can Construction Group. However, as SFU was originally built during the 1960s, the original drawings weren't quite as clear as they should have been, "so we ended up having to redesign the shor- ing. Once that was done, everything went fairly smoothly, despite fac- ing a harsh winter in 2017," explains Leo Perez, principal at Pro-Can Construction Group. For SUB's design, architects Perkins and Will worked extremely closely with the students, holding numerous interviews to gather feedback. "At the beginning of the project we facilitated a visioning workshop from which we developed four benchmark statements: Student Focus – the building was to be the heart of the student experience; Sense of Community – the building had to be welcoming, comfortable, and help create a sense of home away from home for students; Outstanding Design – the building had to be complementary yet distinct from the SFU architec- tural Erickson legacy; and Nature – the building should celebrate nature, pro- vide views to the outdoors, incorporate outdoor spaces wherever possible. We used these as guiding principles for the design," says Jana Foit, associate princi- pal at Perkins and Will. Being on a sloped site, the build- ing was designed so that the lowest floor level is located two-storeys below Convocation Mall, and the high- est floor level is two-storeys above the Mall. "The building is conceived as a terraced massing consistent with the SFU master plan of 'stepping down the mountain.' This creates opportu- nities to maximize daylight inside the building, and provided opportunities for south facing outdoor space that extended the indoors outside," explains Foit. As a result, the team was able to incorporate accessible roof areas on each floor – a feature unique across the SFU campus. Materials on the exterior of the building were chosen to both comple- ment the existing buildings but have a contemporary feel. "The building con- sists of glass and full height composite brushed aluminum panels that give the SUB a clean, modern sleek look. At the main entrance on the third floor, there is a rainbow ceiling soffit that sits under the overhang and adds a very striking look of the building," says Perez. Kaur adds that the coloured ceiling soffit provides a pop of colour and gives an insight into what's going on inside. Heading inside the building, this playful element continues. "From an interiors perspective, we wanted to make the indoor environment wel- coming. We had this concept of a jar of jellybeans – a simple exterior filled with colourful, fun elements," explains Foit. The building is flooded with daylight, and the feature social stair connects all the floors so you can see what's hap- pening through the entire building. The building also includes a commu- nity kitchen, rehearsal rooms for dance and music practices, student club offices, a 3,200-square-foot shared space for student clubs to use, and meeting and multi-use spaces. Student spaces have been placed at the perimeter of the building to allow maximum light penetration and max- imize views, and all five storeys are interconnected with a series of floating lounges that provide a visual connec- tion between the different floors. The interior design concept for the SUB is based on the notion of "connectivity" and "home-away-from-home," creating a space that differs from the aca- demic environment of SFU. Emphasis has been placed on colour, texture, and intuitive wayfinding to create a bespoke indoor environment. One of the many stand-out features of this building is the ballroom on the top floor that from the outside stands out like a glass box in the sky. "We envi- sioned this as a distinct wood 'box' on top of the concrete and metal 'boxes' that are physically connected to the sur- rounding context. The wood backed curtain wall and interior wood pan- elling contrast with the rest of the building and provide a more executive feel for conferences and other events for potential revenue generation. That wood panelling then connects to the rest of the building at the social stair. With three fully glazed facades, the top level really capitalizes on the views of Vancouver Island, Burnaby, and North Shore mountains beyond," explains Foit. For the mechanical and electrical systems, Perez explains that SFU incor- porated low flow plumbing fixtures, LED lighting, active design, low-VOC materials, natural ventilation, daylight- ing and solar shading to control heat gain, hydronic heating and monitoring. The SFSS also intends to put in screens that display energy and water usage. Today the SUB looks somehow as if it was always there, which is a result of excellent teamwork and mass collaboration. "SFU is unique in that most of the students live off campus, so it has always been a challenge to get students to stay beyond their lessons. With the new SUB I feel we have a true heart of the campus now, one that will not only redefine but enrich the student expe- rience at SFU. Students led the project from its inception through to construc- tion and have shown a commitment to improving student life at SFU for gener- ations to come," says Kaur. A LOCATION SFU, Burnaby, B.C. OWNER/DEVELOPER Simon Fraser Student Society ARCHITECT Perkins and Will CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Pro-Can Construction Group STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Fast + Epp MECHANICAL CONSULTANT Integral Group ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT WSP Canada TOTAL SIZE 110,000 square feet TOTAL COST $55 million 12:49 PM

• Cover