SizeEngineering and Computer Science Expansion building: 6,383 square metresHigh Bay Research and Structures Lab building: 2,182 square metres
OwnerUniversity of Victoria
Structural EngineerDIALOG
Construction ManagerBird Construction
Mass Timber SupplierKalesnikoff
Structural systemsHybrid/ WoodMass Timber
Project materialsCross-laminated timber (CLT)Glue-laminated timber (Glulam)MillworkPlywoodDeckingLumber
SpeciesDouglas-fir (CLT, Glulam)
The University of Victoria’s Engineering and Computer Science Lab Expansion is constructed to meet a net-zero carbon target and features a regionally-sourced hybrid-mass timber structure.
The Engineering and Computer Science Expansion project at the University of Victoria provides new teaching and research laboratories, classrooms and office spaces to meet the growing demands of UVic’s Engineering Departments. The project consists of two new buildings: a six-storey Engineering and Computer Science Expansion (ECSE) building and a two-storey High Bay Research and Structures Lab (HBRSL). As living laboratories, the buildings themselves act as research tools, with thousands of sensors to be installed in the foundations, building envelope, labs and structural systems. These sensors will allow students and professors to collect data for hands-on learning and research.
The ECSE building features a common atrium shared with the existing Engineering and Computer Science building, undergraduate design studios, graduate student workstations, specialized labs for environmental and hydraulics engineering, building science, computational research, geotechnical and biomedical engineering. It also includes faculty collaboration spaces and offices. The HBRSL is equipped with a gantry crane, strong floor, reaction wall, structural shake table and other supporting facilities. In addition to research on dynamic loading and structural testing, the lab also accommodates large-scale geotechnical and environmental experiments.
Altogether, the facility accommodates 500 additional students and exemplifies the latest in sustainable building design.
With a significant focus on emissions reduction, the project uses mass timber and low-carbon concrete to lower its overall embodied carbon emissions.
The ECSE building features a hybrid mass timber system, including CLT floor panels and steel columns and beams. This approach reduces the need for secondary steel elements compared to steel deck construction and eliminates the shoring typically required for concrete floors. The lighter mass timber components result in lower seismic demand, reducing the overall quantity of structural steel, foundation materials and soil anchors—further cutting its carbon footprint. The building’s CLT floor assemblies also offer better fire performance than traditional steel decks, achieving a 2-hour fire rating without encapsulation. Exposed CLT decking eliminates the need for drop ceilings commonly required in conventional steel deck construction.
The HBRSL building features glulam beams and columns and CLT floor panels. Pad and combined footings, along with a raft slab for seismic testing of the strong floor, support the glulam columns. The building’s lateral system uses buckling restrained braces (BRBs), optimizing seismic performance. Beyond the BRB system and concrete foundations, the rest of the structure is wood, further reducing the project’s embodied emissions. Mass timber’s natural fire resistance allows it to remain exposed throughout the building, enhancing its biophilic benefits.
Both buildings incorporate energy-efficient Passive House design strategies, such as high-performance building envelopes, extra insulation, thermally efficient glazing, exterior solar shading and optimized window-to-wall ratios. The complex also features energy-efficient electric heat pump HVAC systems powered by B.C.’s low-carbon electricity grid, photovoltaics on the roof and walls and green roofs to increase green space and biodiversity, all of which may be used for research by the University. Special attention was given to environmentally sensitive landscaping that supports local ecosystems, including the University’s tree retention and replacement strategy. Indigenous plantings, selected in collaboration with First Nations knowledge keepers and a UVic ethnobotanist, help restore local ecosystems, including oak meadows and fir and cedar forests, while enhancing biodiversity for plants, pollinators and birds.
Throughout the buildings, sensors are discreetly installed to measure ongoing data, including moisture, temperature, vibration, as well as stresses on glulam beams, columns and CLT slabs. This data, along with a deconstruction plan and reuse commitment letter from the University, ensures the future reuse of mass timber in new structures. The project is set to achieve LEED Gold V4 certification (external link) as well as the Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC) Zero Carbon Building Standard (external link) and is targeting the International Living Future Institute’s Zero Carbon Certification (external link) for the High Bay building.
“This project not only pushes the international boundaries of mass timber construction but also building performance tracking and disassembly and re-use. Data from monitoring the building’s conditions are used in the creation of a “material passport” with technical specifications for each material, including wood source, adhesives, finishes, and grading characteristics. At the end of the building’s life, this data, along with a deconstruction plan and reuse commitment letter from the University, ensures the successful reuse of these materials in future structures.” ESTEBAN MATHEUS, ARCHITECT AIBC, DIALOG
“This project not only pushes the international boundaries of mass timber construction but also building performance tracking and disassembly and re-use. Data from monitoring the building’s conditions are used in the creation of a “material passport” with technical specifications for each material, including wood source, adhesives, finishes, and grading characteristics. At the end of the building’s life, this data, along with a deconstruction plan and reuse commitment letter from the University, ensures the successful reuse of these materials in future structures.”
ESTEBAN MATHEUS, ARCHITECT AIBC, DIALOG
