Introduction to Brock Commons Tallwood House: UBC Tall Wood Building

Get to know Brock Commons Tallwood House

Brock Commons Tallwood House is a mass timber hybrid student residence at the University of British Columbia (UBC), which at 18 storeys was the world’s tallest contemporary wood building at the time of completion.

Brock Commons consists of a 17-storey mass timber hybrid superstructure atop a one-storey concrete podium with two full-height concrete cores that house elevators, stairs and service conduits. The roof is made of prefabricated sections of steel beams and metal decking.

It accommodates 404 students in 272 studios and 33 four-bedroom units. Social and study spaces are located on the ground floor for student residents and commuter students, as well as a lounge on the 18th floor where the mass timber structure is left exposed.

The innovative mass timber-hybrid structural system developed for Brock Commons Tallwood House is economically viable, repeatable and adaptable to other building types and uses.

The estimated* avoided and sequestered greenhouse gases from the wood used in the building is equivalent to removing 511 cars off the road for a year. The total carbon dioxide equivalent** avoided by using wood products over other materials in the building is more than 2,432 metric tonnes.

*Estimated by the Wood Carbon Calculator for Buildings, based on research by Sathre, R. and J. O’Connor, 2010, A Synthesis of Research on Wood Products and Greenhouse Gas Impacts, FPInnovations (this relates to carbon stored and avoided GHG).

**CO2 refers to CO2 equivalent.

Brock Commons Tallwood House, University of British Columbia
Photo credit: KK Law