An eight-story building at Vancouver Community College will feature a cutting-edge electric/hybrid automotive shop to train students on servicing and maintaining electric vehicles and provide education on clean energy. The 343,832-sf Centre for Clean Energy and Automotive Innovation, to be designed by Stantec, will house classrooms, labs, a library and learning center, an Indigenous gathering space, administrative offices, and multiple collaborative learning spaces. Areas will also be dedicated to design media, fashion, jewelry, and CAD/BIM.
The structure is focused on sustainability both in design and in the teaching and learning that will take place within. The building will be outfitted with powerful HVAC systems that respond to climate change and mass timber as the primary structural material in the atrium space. Designers will aim for low embedded carbon and to meet British Columbia’s Step Code 2, LEED Gold Certification, and Rick Hansen Foundation Gold certifications requirements.
Special considerations were given to Indigenous consultation and involvement in the design. Two Row Architect is the Indigenous design collaborator. The proposed design was informed and inspired by the pre-settlement history of the site, based on stories shared with the integrated project team by Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations knowledge keepers.
The significance of the canoe, including its relationship to the land and water, and the craft involved in the making of the canoe, emerged as a design theme. This led to the exploration of design and massing opportunities that conveyed the idea of a traditional Coast Salish canoe. Dark metal panels on the façade mimic traditional Coast Salish canoes. Angled panels represent a canoe as it is being carved. Wood details in the interior will minimize maintenance and further allude to the canoe narrative.
“That didn’t mean we wanted to put a canoe on a building,” says Eleonore Leclerc, Stantec principal and architect. The canoe, water, and land are symbolized in three important design elements: the atrium represents water, the solid volume represents the earth, and the overstructure represents the canoe in construction. “It’s less figurative and more conceptual,” Eleonore says.
On the project team:
Owner and/or developer: Vancouver Community College
Design architect: Stantec Architecture
Architect of record: Stantec Architecture
Indigenous design collaborator: Two Row Architect
MEP engineer: Stantec
Structural engineer: RJC Engineering
General contractor/construction manager: Bird Construction
Related Stories
University Buildings | Sep 15, 2017
New Blinn College Residence Hall hopes to decrease the size of the campus housing wait list
In 2016, more than 400 students were placed on the wait list due to lack of available on-campus housing.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Sep 11, 2017
Mid-size, multi-use arenas setting a trend for the future
While large 20,000-seat sports venues aren’t going away, mid-size venues provide advantages the big arenas do not in a time of budget constraints and the need for flexibility.
Giants 400 | Sep 7, 2017
Top 95 university construction firms
Turner Construction Co., The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., and Barton Malow top BD+C’s ranking of the nation’s largest university sector contractor and construction management firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 7, 2017
Mashup in the halls of ivy: Campus expansions put the emphasis on elevating the student experience
Today’s multi-functional buildings support a diverse range of academic programs, with transparent walls to foster interdisciplinary collaboration.
University Buildings | Sep 5, 2017
Rohrer College of Business supports the schools academic programs with several key spaces
Designed by KSS Architects and Goody Clancy, the new facility opened prior to the fall 2017 school year.
University Buildings | Sep 1, 2017
The University of Texas receives boutique-style student housing complex
The Ruckus Lofts provide 46 furnished units and 165 beds for UT students.
Libraries | Aug 30, 2017
1850s library building is brought into the 21st century
The original building was updated and given a new extension and landscaping.
University Buildings | Aug 28, 2017
Just what the doctor ordered: St. Louis College of Pharmacy receives new student center
The $50 million building adds over 193,000 sf of space to the campus.
University Buildings | Aug 25, 2017
‘Chapel of food’ becomes one of Clemson’s go-to spaces on campus
The new dining hall is part of the school’s ongoing efforts to maintain its standing among the country’s top 20 public universities.
K-12 Schools | Aug 18, 2017
How to create healthy learning environments with active design
Active design can be incorporated into any facility or campus with a few simple steps.
