The University of British Columbia and B.C. Minister of Advanced Education Murray Coell unveiled a revitalized building in its Faculty of Arts Buchanan complex today, the latest to be completed in the largest campus renewal program of its kind in Canada.
Note to editors: The opening ceremony for Buchanan Block C will take place at 10.00-11.30 am today at Meekison Arts Student Space Buchanan Building Block D140, 1866 Main Mall, UBC. Interviews with Minister Coell may be arranged through Corinna Filion at 250.952.6400; cell 250.812.7977. For interviews with Nancy Gallini, Dean, UBC Faculty of Arts contact Federico Barahona at 604 822 4483 or Suzanne Poohkay, Director, UBC Land and Building Services at 604.822.0486.
Buchanan Block C is home to the departments of Political Science, and Classical and Near Eastern Religious Studies. It is the fifth of 10 UBC facilities to be renovated using a new cost-saving model for dealing with aging institutional buildings called UBC Renew. Using smart financing and sustainability practices, this $120 million partnership with the Province of British Columbia allows UBC to refurbish aging buildings rather than replace them. Compared to the cost of constructing new buildings, savings through this program essentially means that the cost of providing every third building is free.
The 10 buildings targeted by UBC Renew would have cost $209 million to build new, compared to renewing them for $120 million, a savings of $89 million. Buchanan Block C cost $6.8 million compared to $11 million for a replacement building – 62 per-cent of the cost. It took twelve months to renovate, which is six-months less than the estimated construction period for a new building on this site.
“The UBC Renew initiative incorporates a number of important benefits,” said UBC President Stephen Toope. “It retains our campus architectural heritage, it demonstrates our commitment toward sustainable approaches, and it provides an innovative and cost-effective financial solution.”
In 2002, UBC created a new financing model for public institutions to pay for infrastructure upgrades by leveraging its strong credit rating to obtain financing in the bond market. UBC then proposed a joint financing plan with the Province of British Columbia, each committing $60 million.
"Through UBC Renew, we’re creating excellent learning spaces for students, which is helping us meet our goal of becoming the best-educated place in North America," says Minister of Advanced Education Murray Coell. "We’re also leaving a smaller carbon footprint by renewing rather than rebuilding."
Upgrades of Buchanan Block C include: new exterior double-glazed windows to save energy; new finishes with low VOC and ‘green’ materials; new heating, plumbing, lighting and power systems; seismic, sprinkler, and other building code upgrades.
Renewal of Buchanan Block C has consumed approximately 40 per cent less resources than demolishing and constructing a new building, and has accomplished the following:
- Diverted 130,000 kg of solid waste from the land fill
- 450,000 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions were not released into the atmosphere
- 7.1 million MJ of primary energy was saved over the manufacturing, construction and end-of-life stages, the equivalent of 170,000 litres of heavy fuel
- Saved 2 million litres of water (that would have been used in the manufacture of materials and construction on site) by retaining the existing components
- Avoided using 36,000 kg of coal (that would have been used in manufacturing) by saving components in the renewal
- Saved $4,886,900 by not demolishing and replacing the building
UBC Renew is an equal partnership between the University of British Columbia and the province. The initiative extends the life of more than 392,000 square feet (36,500 square metres) of aging buildings by 40 years or longer. Updated buildings are reconfigured to improve energy efficiency, lighting, ventilation, audiovisual systems and use of space.
Demonstrating its leadership in campus sustainability, UBC is ensuring that all UBC Renew projects comply with the University’s sustainability goals and target Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification or better. To limit the amount of landfill waste, the University reuses or recycles materials whenever possible.
UBC is the only institution in Canada to renew facilities on such a large scale by renovating deteriorating buildings instead of demolishing them, according to Assoc. Vice President Geoff Atkins, UBC Land and Building Services.
Backgrounder – UBC Renew Timeline
2005 – First project completed with $3.7 million rehabilitation of buildings M17 and M18. Built in 1925 as temporary service buildings, they house the Faculty of Arts theatre and visual arts programs.
2006 – Chemistry North building (a 1961 structure in need of fire and life safety upgrades, improved air quality, ventilation, heating and electrical upgrades) gutted and renovated to meet current building codes. The renovation cost $10 million. A replacement building would have cost $15.5 million; the renewal represents a savings of $5.5 million.
2007 – Buchanan Block D, home to Faculty of Arts undergraduate students, reopened in April after a $7.2 million renovation that included new finishes, new heating, ventilation and audio-visual systems in addition to double-glazed, energy-efficient windows.
2007 – Buchanan Block C reopened in November after a $6.8million renovation that included double-glazed, energy-efficient windows, new ‘green’ finishes and new heating, plumbing, lighting and power systems.
June 2008 – Renovation is currently underway at the Chemistry Centre, one of UBC’s oldest heritage building established in 1925. It will be completed by June 2008.
August 2008 – Work underway on Friedman building in UBC’s Health Sciences precinct. It will be completed by August 2008.
June 2010 and May 2009 – Construction to be completed on Buchanan Blocks A and B respectively, to house more Faculty of Arts programs.
December 2009 – Construction to be completed on Old Auditorium, School of Music performance venue and key rehearsal/teaching space.
What is Deferred Maintenance?
Most building systems require substantial renewal after 25 to 30 years. The cost of maintaining a building grows exponentially as deterioration accelerates and repair and renovation costs increase.
Deferred maintenance is the total dollar amount of existing major maintenance repairs and replacements identified through an audit of buildings, grounds, fixed equipment and infrastructure needs.
UBC is the province’s oldest university, with its first buildings erected in the 1920s. The average age of UBC buildings is 34 years with nearly 35 per cent of the space on campus built 40 years ago or more. UBC has accumulated a backlog of building deferred maintenance of $320 million. UBC Renew will reduce that figure by $77.4 million.
In 2000 a comprehensive study of this issue at universities across Canada, commissioned by the Canadian Association of University Business Officers, estimated that it would cost $3.58 billion to address deferred maintenance.
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