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Houses at Totem Park Residence - UBC
The University of British Columbia is more than a conglomeration of classrooms and cafeterias; it is a place that many students call home. To be sure student housing needs are met today and in the future, UBC has undertaken a number of new projects to meet increasing demand. "UBC has been building new residences at both the Okanagan and Vancouver campuses for 10 years," says Jas Sahota, development manager for UBC Properties Trust. "Three years ago, we completed the Marine Drive Residence which consists of three towers designed to meet the needs of third - and fourth - year students. More recently, two new buildings have been added to the Totem Park Residence, designed for first - year students. These are considerably simpler than the residences for older students. For example, the Totem residences dont have their own kitchens." Incoming students to the two new six - and seven - storey Totem Park buildings can look forward to many features. There are lounges on each floor that come complete with TVs and other amenities. In addition, each room is electronically wired with state - of - the - art technology. David Kiloh, director of facilities for UBC Student Housing and Hospitality Services, says the UBC Board of Governors has mandated that the campus add another 2,500 beds for students over the next five years. The addition of hsmbssm and цэЬхэп Houses adds 567 beds, which means UBC is already close to 20 per cent of the way to accomplishing that goal. "The biggest challenge on this project was the timeline," says Kiloh. "We had to open for the Labour Day weekend - and we did. Not only that, but we were under budget." The project was fast - tracked from the moment it started in November 2009, at which point architecture firm Dialog was hired. By April 2010, the team was already doing site service relocation and prep work. Years ago, Norm Hotson, principal architect in charge from Dialog, worked in Thomson Berwick Pratt & Partners office with Ron Thorn, the original Totem architect. "To keep in line with the historical context of Totem Park, Hotson and his team designed the buildings to complement the existing features of Totem Park, which was originally built in the 1960s. The team achieved this goal by using similar brick cladding and vertical window elements, but with a more contemporary feel," says Don Chow, project manager for Dialog. "The buildings feel more open and spacious, in large part because of the way the fenestration was handled. The new suites have more windows," says Sahota. The building is brighter and more airy; much was learned during the planning and construction of the UBC Okanagan residences. "Each suite has a study space and a space to hang a bike. Thats important as there is no new car parking specific to the building, just parking for bicycles," says Sahota. "The suites are not like a traditional dorm. Here, each student has his or her own suite, sharing a washroom with the immediate neighbour. This affords a lot more privacy than the old - fashioned dorm. Each double - suite is about 400 square feet, with some slight variations." Alex Yu, project manager for ITC Construction Group, says there are challenges on any project, but there were no great difficulties for the new buildings. Clint Low, structural consultant with Vancouver - based Bush, Bohlman & Partners, concurs: "It was a tight schedule. We wanted to ensure the structure was simple and repetitive. Ductile design for the shear walls minimized the amount required and allowed easier integration with the architecture. A unique aspect of this project is that the builders didnt cast the walls in place; they did it with a shotcrete system to save time.
Willie Perez, the projects mechanical engineer from Perez Engineering Ltd., designed the heating, ventilation and plumbing systems. One seemingly unusual aspect of the buildings is that neither has an air - conditioning system. "The object of the design was to meet the REAP Gold guidelines," says Perez. "REAP is UBCs own set of standards for environmental sustainability, similar to the LEED standards which are normally applied to commercial buildings." As for the AC, Perez says, "UBC does not typically air - condition its buildings. The building envelope is quite good at making sure we dont create hot spots and we used glazing that would help with that, while giving an optimum amount of sunlight. Says Ramon Alinas, project manager for Nemetz & Associates, "Extra electrical components were provided for each student suite - for data, telephone, dedicated microwave outlet, as well as an automatic override control system for the heating and lighting. "Basically, there is a local automatic control system that allows heating to shut off when a window is open or to adjust the temperature to a lower setting when the room is unoccupied. The same system also allows in - suite lighting to shut off when an adequate natural lighting level is achieved." Alinas says the sustainable features provided in the individual suites are a first on the campus. He hopes "this will pave the way for an innovative approach to sustainability in future student residences to come." As for the surrounding grounds, "there was a large field, used for soccer, football, Frisbee and more, and we wanted to create as much of a green space as possible after wed built the project," says Margot Long, principal of PWL Partnership, landscape architects for the project. "Its still a large green space," says Long, "and we were able to retain many of the trees, including a forest remnant in the courtyard. The landscape design focused around that." Other landscape features include rain gardens which use collected rainwater, as well as "using a native plant material palette," says Long. "There is a lovely social area for students, with a large harvest table and a big barbecue area for the buildings residents." David Kiloh of the Student Housing and Hospitality Services says it is important to note that, "the students are very excited to be in the new resi - dences.Theylovethem - theconfigura - tion and the fact there is no commute. And that works well for everybody, on and off the campus.
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