Fritted with a fine pattern of white lines, the façade protects against glare while showcasing the alumni centre?s evening lectures and
networking events. Photo: Nic Lehoux
PROJECTS Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre and UBC Student Union Building, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia
ARCHITECTS Alumni Centre?KPMB Architects | HCMA Architecture + Design Architects in Joint Venture; Student Union Building?DIALOG and B+H Associated Architects
TEXT Courtney Healey
PHOTOS Nic Lehoux (Alumni Centre) and Ema Peters (UBC Student Union Building)
Eight thousand first-year students arrive at the University of British Columbia?s Vancouver campus each September. Nervous and eager, they take their first steps into adult life. Over the next four years, their alma mater will work hard to mould them into contributing members of society?and, the university also hopes, into future contributors to UBC?s coffers. This transition from tuition-paying undergrad to donation-making alumnus is big business at universities across North America. At UBC, the distance between the two states can be precisely measured in the 10-metre-wide slot between two new buildings: the AMS Nest student centre designed by DIALOG in partnership with B+H, and the Richard H. Lee Alumni Centre by KPMB with HCMA.
UBC has been in the midst of a building boom over the past decade, developing at a rate unseen since the 1960s. Unique among the university?s current projects, the AMS Nest?s and Alumni Centre?s ...