Capital Projects

Tallwood House

Accelerating change

Since the initiation of Campus as a Living Lab (CLL) as an approach to innovation on UBC’s Vancouver campus, a number of capital projects have leveraged UBC’s operational capabilities and deep research expertise to explore complex questions.

Through these projects we are developing and testing solutions to urgent sustainability challenges, and new models and approaches to collaboration and knowledge exchange. Our goal is to increase the real-world impact of living lab projects, to accelerate change in sustainability policies and practices locally, regionally, and globally.

A mass timber building with locally-fabricated CLT panels houses the facility.
Bioenergy Research Demonstration Facility

The Bioenergy Research Demonstration Facility (BRDF) reduces UBC’s GHG emissions by turning waste wood biomass into clean energy, and supports research on alternative energy technology.
The onsite crew installed one floor of prefabricated envelope panels per day.

Brock Commons Tallwood House

At 18 storeys, Brock Commons Tallwood House is one of the tallest wood buildings in the world, housing over 400 students.
The living roof performs important ecological services at both the building and the campus scale.
Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability

The Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) is an internationally recognized sustainability hub for interdisciplinary research, and a working pilot of sustainable building technologies and performance.
blurry photo of a bike, rain cover, and cars

Smart Hydrogen Energy District by MéridaLabs

Developed and managed by MéridaLabs at UBC, the Smart Hydrogen Energy District (SHED) integrates clean energy systems, transportation, information technology, and urban design through a renewable energy hub and BC’s first hydrogen refuelling and charging station.
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Embodied Carbon Pilot

An exploration of life cycle assessment processes and tools, based on real world experience at UBC, developed to inform future policies around the embodied carbon emissions associated with building materials.