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University of British Columbia Forest Sciences Centre |
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Economically and culturally, British Columbia has always been heavily identified with its forest. It's a natural progression, then, that the design of the building that will house the University of British Columbia's (UBC) renowned forestry program both embrace and exemplify B.C.'s timber-rich heritage. The origins of UBC's
$43-million Forest Sciences Centre date back to 1988, when the building was originally conceived as a sweeping two-storey wood structure situated on a 1.2-hectare parcel of land. UBC planners, however, recognizing
the imminent land shortage on campus, shifted the building's location to a considerably smaller, more urban site at the gateway to the campus, a move which ultimately affected the design. ``The design of the Forest
Sciences Centre came about in response to campus planning directives to produce a legible, amicable focus building for the development of a unified main mall of the university," says architect Sebastian Butler of
Dalla-Lana Griffin Dowling Knapp Architects. ``There was a real need to unify the faculty of forestry in one building that would integrate structural, mechanical and electrical infrastructure into an efficient
operational entity." |
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The 19,800-square-metre complex is made up of three distinct components: an L-shaped office/classroom block, a laboratory block and the
Centre for Advanced Wood Processing, all linked by a central atrium. ``The metaphorical theme of this concept is the representation of the forest through the lab block and office block," says Butler. ``'Mountain'
facades enclose a cathedral grove of heavy timber structure open to the sky through the atrium's skylit roof." The exterior elements of the Forest Sciences Centre's rusticated concrete/sandstone base, brick and glass
facades, and gently bowed roofscape, notes Butler, were intended ``to represent a ground, forest, and mountain profile." A design mandate specified that the facility integrate as much wood construction as
possible – and that the building stand as a visible demonstration of wood construction. ``Given that the Forest Sciences Centre is intended to be a world leader in forestry research and education, this represented a
real opportunity to demonstrate the use of wood in the potential market of non-residential building," says Butler. |
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