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University of British Columbia Water Pump Station

Small but mighty: A critical infrastructure upgrade at British Columbia’s largest university

  • Vancouver, British Columbia

    Vancouver, British Columbia

Developing compact solutions for critical water infrastructure for the UBC Campus

As the largest and oldest university in British Columbia, the University of British Columbia (UBC) saw a need to renew its existing pump station. It was nearing end of life and required an increased supply of pumping water to serve the growing campus of over 60,000 people.  

Our multidisciplinary architecture and engineering team provided the feasibility study, design, and construction services for a new pump station to provide high-pressure water to the campus for both domestic cold-water supply and firefighting services. Both the building systems and hybrid steel and mass timber structure are designed to post-disaster standards, and a crane is situated permanently in the Pump Station’s high headroom, allowing for future installation and movement of large components and equipment.

Blending in with the context of the school, the pavilion-like building was designed to integrate within the urban fabric of its location on a pedestrian thoroughfare at the heart of the UBC Campus. Extensive glazing is used at the ground level to showcase the engineering systems that provide essential services to the University. The result? A design that transforms a heavy-duty operational building into a visually appealing educational facility.

At a Glance

Offices
Meet Our Team

Colleen Dixon, Principal

Creating communities is about more than buildings—we need look at the relationships, and the spaces in between to see the full vision.

Maciej Golaszewski, Landscape Architect

Developing new sustainability measures to mitigate the effects of climate change is one more step towards a better future for the world.

Simon VanGrootheest, Associate, Project Designer

Decisions we make together during the design process are commitments toward making a better community for people.

Colleen Dixon

Principal

Maciej Golaszewski

Landscape Architect

Simon VanGrootheest

Associate, Project Designer

We’re better together

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