AMS Student Nest: the UBC Student Union Building

Location: Vancouver, BC
Client: UBC Properties Trust
Completion: 2015
Size: 23,535 sq m

253,333 sq ft
Sustainability: LEED® Platinum certified
Collaborators: Applied Engineering Solutions

B+H Associated Architects

RJC Engineers
DIALOG Services: Architecture

Interior Design

Purposefully situated, the Alma Mater Society (AMS) Nest is the social pulsing heart of UBC. The space considers both people and place, and the LEED® Platinum certified mixed-use facility - designed in collaboration with B+H - serves the environment, promotes socialization, and is economically self-efficient. The program represents a broad range of the student-operated food, beverage, and retail services that generate income. Atypical features include an art gallery, radio station, roof-top garden, climbing wall, and numerous unstructured learning spaces.

01/10

student union building exterior university of british columbia 01 — A student's perspective The Nest’s final form was the result of fully involving and engaging student creativity during the design process.

student union building exterior university of british columbia 02 — Flip the design process The project was initially awarded by the AMS student body and UBC Properties Trust through internet crowdsourcing.

student union building exterior university of british columbia 03 — Layering it with ambitions Their collective ambitions for ideals of empowerment, advocacy, accessibility, diversity, sustainability and above all, community, could not have been realized without daily collaboration…

student union building design process university of british columbia 04 — And novel light A satellite design cube was placed in the old student union building for the duration of The Nest’s pre-design and build. Architects and engineers used it to activate student participation.

the nest student union building atrium university of british colombia carousel 05 v2 — Engaging new tools This, coupled with activating an online conversation through social media, finalized a design that directly responded to students' wants and visions.

student union building interior nest theatre university of british columbia 06 — To craft a new model A pseudo-city emerged. It was curated as an emulation of the student body’s identity and ideals, a model community that sustainably promotes human contact and inspiration.

student union building interior nest theatre university of british columbia 07 — The project was delivered from start to finish in over five years – through five different client groups, as the AMS council’s torch was passed, year to year.

student union building interior nest theatre university of british columbia 08 — This kind of fluidity, and a client base with 61,000 student voices, required a design approach unlike any other.

student union building interior nest theatre university of british columbia 09 — The Nest takes shape with moveable, reconfigurable, de- / re-constructible systems that allow flexibility to respond to short-term changes over hours, days, and months.

nest glulam beams — Durable materials and non-prescriptive elements allow for adaptation to occur over longer time scales.

Meet The Team

It's almost a mini city in a building.

Wallpaper*

student union building sketch university of british columbia 01 — It all started with a sketch
The Nest Theatre The new student union building started with The Nest, which embodied a safe and sustainable space. From this central idea, students and designers collectively conceived of the rest.

It all started with a sketch

The Nest Theatre The new student union building started with The Nest, which embodied a safe and sustainable space. From this central idea, students and designers collectively conceived of the rest.

the nest student union building solar power coolling diagram university of british colombia poi 01

The Sustainability Story 01

The building's functional, sustainable architecture is simultaneously inspiring, featuring a palatial floating datum, aka The Nest. The central sky-lit atrium, known as the Agora, is flanked with floor-to-ceiling windows that run along the west of the structure. These flood the Agora with incandescence while offering views of the knoll, an external social gathering space. The tactical vibrations of wood against steel speak warmth and strength. The structural conversation is reflective of the compounded voices of UBC’s student body.

the nest student union building ventilation diagram university of british colombia poi 02

The Sustainability Story 02

The building incorporates aspects of the Living Building Challenge, the goal of which is to encourage the creation of a regenerative built environment.

the nest student union building water management diagram university of british colombia poi 03

The Sustainability Story 03

This is sustainability by very pleasing numbers. They are as follows: 2.8M litres of rainwater collection per year; 75% construction waste diversion; 64% reduction in potable water use; 57% energy savings; 50% Forest Stewardship Council-certified materials; 5% energy from solar thermal.