Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/178323
PHOTOS: ROBERT STEFANOWICZ Earth Sciences Building – UBC by Lauren Kramer he Earth Sciences Building opens at the University of British Columbia in September, when it will welcome between 500 and 600 science students. Housing the departments of statistics, earth and ocean science, mathematics and the of ices of the dean of science, it is a unique structure on many accounts – from its architecture and physical makeup to its mechanical systems and environmental friendliness. "The goal was to aggregate the different science departments under one roof, because until now the multiple groups have been spread throughout campus without a centralized location," says Craig Knight, development manager and analyst for UBC Properties Trust. The ive-storey, LEED Gold academic and laboratory building will house two new lecture theatres, of ices, computer labs, science labs, clean labs, meeting rooms, equipment rooms, study areas, a library, an atrium and a café. The laboratories are located on the building's south side, while the of ices are on the north. A ive-storey atrium, in line with the campus' east-west connection known as Biosciences Road, separates the two. A large, cantilevered engineered wood staircase provides access to the upper loors, creating an architectural expression. According to Knight, the Earth Sciences Building is one of the most innovative wood structures in North America. "Up to two-thirds of the 14,900-square-metre building is composed of wood, and it's on the cutting edge of wood technology," he says. All of the structurally laminated products, including glulam and cross-laminated timber (CLT), were supplied and installed by Structurlam Products of Penticton, B.C. Glulam columns and beams support the building, the looring is composed of timberstrand and concrete, and the roof and canopies are comprised of CLT. "It's a leading-edge building, with lots of things that have never been done before," says Structurlam president Bill Downing. "This is the largest application of the use of wood panels on the continent, and the stairway represents the irst use of a combination of glulam and a European connection system called HBK in North America. Because we were pushing the envelope here, the project was a real challenge. But it was a fantastic opportunity to work on it." Downing says this T is among the top three projects the company has worked on in its 50 years, in terms of both size and innovation. Original plans had called for the entire structure to be composed of wood. "But there was no testing available at the time that would prove the vibration and acoustic concerns for the lab areas would be met," says Jana Foit, associate architect at Perkins + Will. "So instead, we applied for Canada Wood Council Funding through the Wood First Program." The architectural team had to follow a particular footprint as per UBC's design guidelines, which also stipulated the use of certain materials. "The structure meshes with other campus buildings through the use of white brick, concrete and glass materials, the building height and the setback," she says. "And to create a relationship with the Beatty Biodiversity Museum, we used the same spacing for the columns and ensured that the buildings' two canopies complement each other." Maples Argo Architects developed a modular, movable adjustable system for the four- loor laboratory space, which houses labs for biology, chemistry and geochemistry as well as clean rooms and a high head room lab. "There was a real range of fume hood types, much more so than for most buildings," says Alan Maples, principal. "We have 54 very specialized fume hoods throughout the building, only two of which are alike." To accommodate lab fumes, Stantec Consulting installed a variable fume hood exhaust system that could accommodate the labs' special needs. "Some of the science experiments use very strong acids that would melt a stainless steel exhaust system, so we used a material called CPVC ductwork," says Jimmy Ng, principal and project engineer. The Earth Sciences Building has a solar chimney with operable windows for free cooling and natural ventilation in the of ice and atrium. An additional smart control system provides demand-based heating and ventilation from the displacement ventilation and in-slab heating system, while a centralized, high-ef iciency heat recovery chiller plant heats and cools the building. "The result is a low-exergy mechanical system, which means very ef icient, low-energy consumption," he says. "The building provides 59 per cent more energy savings compared to a model national energy code baseline for a similar building, and we achieve a greenhouse gas reduction equivalent to 932 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually." The building uses Thermenex, a mechanical system that maximizes its ability to heat and cool itself. Only the third of its kind in Canada today, Thermenex was created and installed by IMEC Mechanical and is more sustainable and environmentally friendly than other systems, according to co-owner Jeff Weston. "We treat the building as a resource, as its own solution," Weston says. "It's all one system of moving heat and thermal energy around." The Thermenex system contains hot and cold water in the same pipe and control valves, maintaining the temperature in balance mode for most of the year. In the peak of winter and summer, heat is added to or rejected from the building as needed. "All the building systems tie into the pipe, take the minimal amount of heat they need and return it to the pipe, maximizing heat Earth Sciences Building – UBC p.58-61UBC Earth.indd 59 7/13/12 10:18 AM