Exterior evening view of mid rise passive house / high performance Earth Sciences Building on UBC Campus showing a perimeter of Glue-laminated timber (Glulam) columns supporting Cross laminated timber (CLT) soffits

UBC Earth Sciences Building

Location: Vancouver, B.C.
Architect: Perkins & Will
Completion: 2012
Photo credit: Don Erhardt

Size
14,963 square metres

Structural Engineer
Equilibrium Consulting Inc.

Engineered Wood Fabricator
Mercer Mass Timber LLC

Structural systems
Hybrid / Other
Mass timber
Mid rise
Passive House / High performance
Post + beam
Prefabricated

Project materials
Cross-laminated timber (CLT)
Glue-laminated timber (Glulam)

Standout five-storey cantilevered floating solid timber staircase

At the time of construction, the Earth Sciences Building (external link) was the largest panelized wood building in North America.

1,300+ metres of mass timber used

Because it was home to The University of British Columbia’s (UBC’s) earth sciences labs, the five-storey, double-winged building connected by an atrium had to live up to the latest in green building technology. The solution was the extensive and innovative use of CLT, LSL and glulam. More than 1,300 cubic metres of mass timber went into the construction, and all of it was sourced and engineered in British Columbia.

A pioneer of innovative techniques

The Earth Sciences Building has a hybrid floor system of LSL and concrete that is lighter than solid concrete and provides excellent sound absorption. The roof and canopies are constructed from CLT.

In the atrium, a standout five-storey cantilevered floating staircase built entirely out of solid timber is the first of its kind in the world—almost four-metres wide with landings that double as meeting areas. Full-storey steel glulam hybrid transfer trusses convert the entire second-floor structure into a ‘roof truss’ capable of carrying the load of the remaining floors.

If a fire were to occur, engineering of the wood products and building design ensures exterior layers of the mass timber will char, preventing the interior of the product from burning and maintaining structural integrity. The building is coated in a fire retardant material that would also slow a fire. Diagonal glulam braces at the end of each storey resist seismic loads.

Energy efficiency was top of mind

It was crucial that the buildings have a low carbon footprint. Wood was a natural choice for the Earth Sciences Building because wood is durable, adaptable, versatile, and uses less energy than conventional concrete and steel. Each ton of dry wood product offsets between 1.8 and 2.0 tons of CO2, which means the wood materials that went into the Earth Sciences Building will sequester about 1,094 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Leander Bathon discusses innovative elements of the Earth Sciences Building at the University of British Columbia which includes a composite floor, cross-laminated timber (CLT) roof panels and a composite floating staircase.
Exterior cloudy daytime image of mid rise hybrid UBC Earth Sciences Building showing Cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor sections & Glue-laminated timber (Glulam) columns, beams, and diagonal bracing

Case study: Wood in higher education

Learn more about the Earth Sciences Building and other mass timber buildings on the UBC Point Grey campus.

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