Built in response to the global challenge of creating a more sustainable society, the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) demonstrates leading- edge green building design technologies, products, and systems.
CIRS is a state-of-the-art “living- lab” in which researchers from leading academic institutions worldwide can conduct interactive research on and assessment of current and future building systems and technologies. Partners from private and public sectors share the facility, working with CIRS researchers to ensure study conducted is connected to real world needs of the community, industry, and policy makers. The outcome of research, product and policy development manifested from CIRS will play a fundamental role in accelerating the path to sustainability.
Designed to exceed LEED Platinum and Living Building Challenge standards, CIRS is one of the few commercial buildings constructed primarily of certified wood and beetle-killed wood (currently B.C.’s largest source of carbon emissions). Its wood structure locks in more than 500 tons of carbon, offsetting the GHG emissions that resulted from the use of other non-renewable construction materials in the building, such as cement, steel and aluminum. Other net-positive qualities include reducing UBC’s carbon emissions, powering itself and a neighboring building with renewable and waste energy, and providing water for inhabitants with rainwater while wastewater is treated onsite.
This 5,700 SM facility houses highly flexible classrooms, laboratories and office space in addition to lecture theatres, a public atrium, exhibition spaces, and a café. Every workspace is daylit, naturally ventilated, with temperature and air under individual control. BD+C
Related Stories
| Sep 14, 2022
Indian tribe’s new educational campus supports culturally appropriate education
The Kenaitze Indian Tribe recently opened the Kahtnuht’ana Duhdeldiht Campus (Kenai River People’s Learning Place), a new education center in Kenai, Alaska.
| Sep 13, 2022
California building codes now allow high-rise mass-timber buildings
California recently enacted new building codes that allow for high-rise mass-timber buildings to be constructed in the state.
| Sep 13, 2022
Orange County opens civic center complex—one of California’s largest P3 projects
Orange County’s recently opened County Administration North (CAN) building caps an urban center development that constitutes one of California’s largest ever P3 projects.
Laboratories | Sep 12, 2022
Lab space scarcity propels construction demand in life sciences sector
In its 2021 Life Sciences Real Estate Outlook, JLL predicted that access to talent would be a primary concern for an industry sector that had been growing by leaps and bounds. A year later, talent still guides real estate decisions. But market conditions of a different sort were cooling the biotech field: namely, investors that have soured on startups which underperformed after going public. What this means for new construction and renovation going forward is unpredictable, as the drivers behind life sciences’ surge are still palpable.
Architects | Sep 12, 2022
FWA Group joins national architecture, interior design, and planning firm Hord Coplan Macht
Hord Coplan Macht acquires FWA Group.
| Sep 12, 2022
Staff at New York City architecture firm is first in U.S. to unionize
Staff at New York City architecture firm is first in U.S. to unionize.
| Sep 12, 2022
San Antonio’s new courthouse aims to provide safety and security while also welcoming the public
The San Antonio Federal Courthouse, which opened earlier this year, replaces a courthouse that had been constructed as a pavilion for the 1968 World’s Fair.
Giants 400 | Sep 9, 2022
Top 20 Casino Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
JCJ Architecture, DLR Group, HBG Design, and Cuningham top the ranking of the nation's largest casino architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 9, 2022
Top 120 Hospitality Sector Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
Gensler, WATG, HKS, and JCJ Architecture top the ranking of the nation's largest hospitality facilities sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue for all hospitality facilities work, including casinos, hotels, and resorts.
| Sep 9, 2022
Add sand shortage to supply chain woes
As if it wasn’t enough to have lumber, windows, doors, and metal pipe in short supply, you can add sand, which is theoretically plentiful on Earth, to the list of construction materials that can be hard to come by.
