Home The interior Sauder School of Business - Expansion - Phase II and III - UBC
Sauder School of Business - Expansion - Phase II and III - UBC
The Sauder School of Business, a centrepiece of UBCs Point Grey campus in Vancouver, stands as a testament to the success of its 31,000 alumni in 74 countries around the world. Over time, the schools interiors had become dated, the mechanical, plumbing, heating and cooling systems had become inefficient, and the internationally renowned business school now resembled, at least on an experiential level, a typical 1960s high school. Meanwhile, corporate culture kept moving forward - embracing new technologies, youthful, attractive branding and gender equality. Today, thanks to an enterprising dean, a keen student body, an innovative architectural design, and quality construction by builders and trades, the Sauder School of Business once again stands as the icon it was when the school opened the doors of its first purpose - built building in 1965. Earlier this year, the project received a Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Award in Architecture. In 2010, the project was recognized with a Sustainable Architecture & Building Canadian Green Building Award and a Canadian Interiors Best of Canada Design Award. Construction of the original school began with the Henry Angus Building in 1965. The E.D. McPhee additions were built in 1975 and the David Lam Management Research Centre was completed in 1995. Today, the complex is known as the Sauder School of Business. Over time, the schools needs, purposes and population changed, and the buildings systems and structure couldnt meet the burgeoning needs. Today, the school is equipped with high - tech teaching, learning and amenity resources. Ironically, technology was not the first item on a laundry list of basic needs. "When we first toured the building, it was quite run - down," says Russell Acton, principal of Acton Ostry Architects Inc. and his associate Alex Percy. "Students were sitting on the floors in the hallways because there was such limited social space. We wanted to create a learning environment that would be commensurate with the reputation the school had developed internationally as a leader in innovative business research." The 5,430 - square - metre phase one expansion was completed in January 2010. For phase two, 20,000 square metres of existing classrooms were demolished and replaced with new teaching spaces that include tiered lecture theatres equipped with video cameras and large projection screens to accommodate long distance learning, power sources for laptops and Wi - Fi throughout the building. For phase three, a new 600 - square - metre conference centre penthouse has been added to the existing administration tower. On a typical school day, visitors are greeted by a large concourse filled with students working on their laptops on sofas and chairs. A soaring atrium floods daylight into the school. The five - storey atrium is the symbolic heart of the school that connects the original building with the five - storey phase one addition. Inside the atrium, the facade of the original 1960s Henry Angus Building contains the Builders Wall which displays portraits of faculty and others that have made significant contributions. Opposite, the facade in the addition has a forest scene etched in glass that envelopes a communal study area.
The school stayed open throughout construction, which will have taken almost four years to complete. It took a feat of logistics and organization to avoid hampering the ongoing operations. "Noise, mess of construction, delivery issues and, in particular, the safety of the general public," says Scott Construction Group project manager Karl Miller, referring to the challenges. Acton says he was pleased to work with the modernist architecture of the original Thompson Berwick & Pratt building, which was appended in the 1970s by two blocks and then in the 1980s by a tower. Structural engineer Glotman Simpsons main tasks included the full structural design of the Sauder Business School addition as well as the seismic upgrade of the existing Henry Angus Classroom block and E.D. McPhee north and south wings. Glotman Simpson consulting engineer Scott Kenyon says his biggest challenge was to come up with a structural design to provide a column - free space in the basement lecture hall. They used large post - tensioned concrete beams to transfer the loads from the steel framing supporting the building above. "That was even more challenging as the space was located under the new five - storey addition," says Kenyon. "Another issue we had to contend with was seismically separating the addition from the existing buildings, while still using the existing building structure to vertically support portions of the south and east edges," notes Kenyon. Tasked with the structural design of the new penthouse floor to be added atop the administration tower, JM Engineering principal Jim Mandelli found the challenge was similar to Kenyons: minimizing seismic impact. "We had to demolish significant portions of the existing concrete structure above the former roof to ensure that weight of the new penthouse floor was lighter than the weight that was removed," he says. Acton and Percy give credit to Sauder School of Business dean Dan Muzyka, who spearheaded the first fundraising efforts nearly a decade ago. All involved, from architects to tradespeople to funders, students and faculty, were inspired by the personal relationships that build business, and the historic alliances in the business community that built the school.
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