A little about the Wood Buildings Interactive Tour…
Situated on a forested peninsula on the westernmost point of Vancouver, the University of British Columbia campus is a 1,001 acre community of academic, residential, commercial, agricultural and operational facilities. UBC has adopted strong sustainability performance criteria that all building projects and development initiatives must comply with. One of the main reasons timber products have gained more consideration for construction is the fact that in 2009 the Province of British Columbia passed Bill 9-2009 (the “Wood First Act”) with the aim of promoting a culture of living and building with wood by requiring its use as a principal material in any provincially funded building.
For UBC, building sustainably involves supporting both human and environmental health and well-being by designing long-lasting buildings with minimal carbon footprints that are adaptive to change and that can be deconstructed at the end of their useful life. Therefore, wood has emerged as a key element in achieving UBC’s sustainable design goals. UBC has determined, through studies such as life cycle assessment (LCA), that wood is an optimal building material due to its structural, aesthetic and inherently low environmental impact characteristics.
Key features of wood:
- Renewable resource
- Sequesters carbon
- Durable and locally sourced
- Can be reused and recycled
- Optimal strength to weight ratio
- Low embodied energy
These qualities are essential in supporting UBC’s ambitious goals to create sustainable buildings that are “regenerative”— designed to achieve net-positive performance in both environmental and human terms. Wood-frame and mass-timber construction have been utilized in a variety of UBC buildings and, moving forward, these buildings will provide a foundation for the expanded scope of the use of wood in sustainable construction, as well as demonstrating the important role that cultural factors, technical capabilities, and environmental benefits play in wood construction.
This tour aims to showcase the benefits of using wood as a principal building material, as well as the natural beauty embodied in any wood structure. We hope you enjoy it!
Accessibility:
Please note that due to regular operational activities, some of the tour stops may have limited or restricted access to some of the features mentioned in the tour. Specifically, the First Nations Longhouse and Bioenergy Research & Demonstration Facility buildings are exterior-only stops. The tour content has been designed with this in mind, and you will still be able to learn about all of the key features.
Audio:
Headphones are highly recommended and encouraged for best appreciation of the Tour’s content. By using headphones you will be able to listen more clearly to our special narrated slideshows, while not disturbing the people performing their daily activities within the buildings.
Start Tour! 