THEY HAD A PROBLEM, WE HAD A SOLUTION

THE BUCHANAN CASE STUDY

OVERVIEW

The Buchanan Building Block C at the University of British Columbia is one of the primary facilities for the Faculty of Arts—one of the largest faculties nt UBC—with over 12,000 students enrolled each year. Renovated in 2010 by Perkins+Will, a complete overhaul of the building’s mechanical, electrical, and seismic systems also included a redesign of the building’s interior.

PROBLEM

As a west facing building, it builds up a considerable amount of heat, so adequate ventilation is crucial. Many of the offices in this particular building do not feature mechanical ventilation.

As a result, many occupants experience excess heat and ventilation problems, especially throughout the summer.

Opening and closing of windows are the only methods available to help promote airflow throughout the building. Many of the office rooms rely on the undercut in the door to provide ventilation, which do not provide adequate ventilation.

SOLUTION

VanAir replaced doors in the building to help with ventilation. More notably, when the doors were replaced, it was found that the old doors originally had a opening in them. The original pathway was covered up with a stainless steel kick plate to deal with poor sound absorptiveness and poor aesthetics.