UBCO Teaching & Learning Centre

The Teaching and Learning Centre is a new building at the University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus that includes cutting-edge technology facilities. The Centre will include formal and informal study spaces along with group and individual workstations. Computer labs and seminar rooms are planned to serve the need to train in new resources and technology. There will be a shared space for debates, dialogues, and practice forums for students, faculty and the community. The building consists of four storeys of student space, including a 600-seat lecture theatre, 32 study rooms, a coffee shop and a large open area for individual or group study.

Williams Engineering (WE) has been contracted to provide the mechanical and electrical design and construction administration services for the addition. The electrical design includes lighting, power, emergency, security and communication systems. The lighting system includes occupancy and daylight sensing to maximize energy efficiency while providing individual control to the occupants in each study room. The mechanical design services for this project include heating, ventilation, air conditioning, plumbing and fire protection. The building’s heating and air conditioning are provided by a six-pipe geothermal source chiller plant. The general spaces are heated, air-conditioned and ventilated by a four-pipe variable air volume (VAV) system. The lecture hall’s heating and cooling system is supplied by a displacement ventilation system, and the archive room is equipped with an air handling unit to deal with specific humidity levels to ensure the environment is maintained properly.

The project is being designed to meet a minimum of LEED® Gold certification to maximize the performance of the building as well as have a positive impact on the environment and the surrounding community.