Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/218643
rendering courtesy UBC Properties Trust Ponderosa Commons – Phase 1 by Adam Currie s the first of several multipurpose student housing developments, Ponderosa Commons is being hailed as a reflection of The University of British Columbia's (UBC) vision to create vibrant centres where students are able to live and learn, while also providing a core area where the campus community can meet, study, work and eat. In Fall this year, UBC welcomed another 600 students into residence with the opening of Ponderosa Commons, which offers a unique twist on traditional residence life. Built around the concept of a vibrant residential hub, the new complex will increase the number of students housed at UBC's Vancouver campus to 10,000 – making it the largest housing program in Canada. In contrast to traditional residence outlines, the facility is a mix of living and academic space and also boasts the university's first commuter collegium, which it hopes will serve as a "home away from home" for first-year students commuting to the campus. "In many ways UBC views the campus as a living laboratory," explains Richard Aarestad, project manager at Ledcor. "This approach fosters innovation and creativity in tackling major issues like housing and sustainability. The tone of cooperation it set from the very beginning of the project made A Ponderosa Commons – Phase 1 p56-59Ponderosa.indd 57 it clear that despite challenges and lessons learned, we will be successful if we all work together." The complex also houses the Audain Art Centre, which includes an art gallery and learning space, studios and laboratories for visual and digital arts students, as well as the Department of Geography's Geofluvial Lab. In addition, the building provides both study areas and dining facilities, with end-of-trip bicycle facilities open to the entire campus community. The project is being undertaken as a joint venture partnership between Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg (KPMB) Architects of Toronto and Hughes Condon Marler Architects (HCMA) of Vancouver. Both firms have extensive experience in designing large, complex projects involving housing, post-secondary academic institutions and community-use facilities. There has been a high degree of collaboration at all stages of the project with KPMB having a greater responsibility in the design aspect of the work, while HCMA has been overseeing the contract administration phase. Ledcor Construction Ltd. is serving as construction manager on Phase 1 of the development project and has been working closely with UBC's development arm, UBC Properties Trust. Other partners on the project include Wicke Herfst Maver Structural Engineers and Stantec for mechanical and electrical engineering. The Ponderosa Commons complex is being built in two phases. Phase 1 was completed in Fall, while Phase 2 is slated for completion in 2015. At $168 million, this development has been billed as one of UBC's most expensive construction projects. Upon completion it will add 1,100 beds of student housing to the campus. Phase 1 involved the construction of two new mixed-use towers with student residences above academic areas. The West Building is comprised of four levels of academic use areas and 14 residential levels with a total of 336 suites (studio, two and four bedrooms), 434 beds and an overall building area of 196,852 square feet. The East Building is also comprised of four levels of academic use areas and 13 residential levels with a total of 104 suites (studio, two and four bedrooms), 169 beds and an overall building area of 119,943 square feet. Ledcor has taken a step-by-step approach to the project, with Phase 1 being completed in multiple stages. The West Building residential complex was completed in August of this year, while the East Building residential section and academic spaces were scheduled for completion in November 2013. When describing the aims of the complex from an architectural standpoint, Karen Marler, principal architect at HCMA, says: "With space to build on campus at a premium, one of UBC's core strategic directions is the creation of five high-density mixed-use hubs placed in a ring around the academic campus core. "The objective of Ponderosa Commons is the first of these and is on track to achieve an ambitious design within a lean budget, LEED Gold sustainability objectives and seamlessly fits the new hub within the surrounding mid-rise campus environment." In its efforts to obtain LEED Gold certification, the project's architects designed the exterior facades of the complex's two towers using a unique concrete insulation "sandwich" panel that keeps the buildings warm in the winter and cool in the summer. A mechanical system returns warm air to the building, and sensors prevent residents from discharging unneeded heat when windows are open, resulting in a minimization of energy waste. Marler says it was recognized early on in the conceptual stages of the Ponderosa Commons project that an aggressive schedule would play a critical role in the enclosure and timely completion of the building, and that a december 2013 /57 13-11-15 3:58 PM