The Design Story 01

University of British Columbia - Campus Energy Centre
Changing the consumption conversation- Location
- Vancouver, BC
- Client
- The University of British Columbia
- Completion
- 2016
- Size
- 1,974 sq m
- 21,248 sq ft
- Sustainability
- LEED® Gold certified
- Collaborators
- Applied Engineering Solutions Ltd.
- BKL Consultants Ltd.
- Fast + Epp
- FVB Energy Inc.
- Kerr Wood Leidal Associates
- LMDG Building Code Consultants Ltd
- Perry + Associates
- DIALOG Services
- Architecture
The Campus Energy Centre (CEC) inhales massive amounts of air to feed the combustion process and exhales hot, humid exhaust, while supporting a pulsing circulatory system that feeds hot water to campus buildings. Comprised of a new high-efficiency hot water heating plant and district hot-water distribution loop, the CEC replaces an old boiler plant constructed in 1925. The new system serves over 130 buildings delivered through 14 km of underground insulated pipe. It houses all process equipment including three 15 MW boilers with capacity for phased expansion to a total output of 80 MW. Its design and placement on campus redefines district energy by making sustainable infrastructure visible to the campus community. DIALOG also provided energy modeling services on this project.
“The predominant use of mass timber and cross-laminated timber, in place of more typically carbon-intensive structural components, reinforces how a project can be exemplary in responding to local challenges.”RAIC Jury - RAIC Award of Excellence response


The Design Story 02
Applying the shroud

The Design Story 03
Skin responds to input outputs

The Design Story 04