As the University of British Columbia celebrates its first Centenary, the oldest building on its Vancouver campus reopens today with new state-of-the-art research and learning facilities and its historic charms intact.
The renewal of the Chemistry Building is the latest project of UBC Renew, a $120-million partnership between UBC and the provincial government designed to breathe new life into older buildings on B.C.’s oldest and largest university campus.
Construction of the Chemistry Building began in 1914 but halted due to World War I and didn’t resume until 1923, following the historic Great Trek, when 1,200 students marched from 12th and Cambie to the Point Grey campus, urging the provincial government to continue developing infrastructure at UBC. On March 7, UBC marks its first century since the 1908 passage of the University Act that created the province’s first post-secondary institution.
Major discoveries have been made in the building, including the first noble gas compound and technology that led to the creation of QLT, UBC’s best known spin-off company.
“The Chemistry Building is synonymous with UBC’s history,” says UBC President Stephen Toope, who joins Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell in the official opening.
“The historic photo of students congregating in the concrete skeleton of this building epitomizes our student activism and the birth of the Point Grey campus. Restoring its past grandeur and modernizing the facility, all the while improving safety and sustainability, is what UBC Renew is all about,” says Toope.
One of the three buildings in the original 1912 campus plan — the other two are the Library and the Power Plant — the Chemistry Building features B.C. granite on its façade in the Collegiate Gothic style, complete with copper scuppers and gargoyles, and traditional oak trimmed interiors, all of which have been preserved in the Renew process.
The renovation also includes new lecture theatres, student space, open laboratories with enhanced safety features and a building seismic upgrade.
“We’ve partnered with UBC to restore and upgrade the Chemistry Building under an innovative funding agreement called UBC Renew that is preserving the environment, taxpayers’ dollars and UBC’s architectural heritage,” Coell said. “The result is that students and faculty have access to state-of-the-art chemistry labs where researchers can work together in a safe, productive environment.”
In addition to preserving a heritage landmark, the Chemistry Renew project incorporated sustainable practices that saved $15.9 million in costs, diverted 323 tons of solid waste from land fills, and prevented 1,155 tons of carbon emissions from being released into the atmosphere, compared to constructing a new comparable replacement building. For more information on UBC Renew, visit www.lbs.ubc.ca/renew.
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