Backgrounder: Government Opens UVic Climate Change Research Building
The new $66.6 million science facility is the largest building on the University of Victoria campus at 12,764 sq m. The BC government provided $37.5 million for its construction. Bob Wright, president and CEO of the Oak Bay Marine Group of Companies, donated $10 million (plus $1 million for student scholarships). The remaining funding was provided by UVic and other donors. The lead architect on the project was Chernoff Thompson Architects of Vancouver.
The building houses the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences (SEOS); a rooftop observatory operated by the Department of Physics and Astronomy; synthetic chemistry researchers from the Department of Chemistry; two large lecture theatres, offices, labs, meeting rooms and food services.
The building also hosts the Canadian Centre for Climate Modeling and Analysis (CCCma), a division of Environment Canada. The centre develops and runs the Canadian global climate model, which provides climate change scenarios for researchers, decision-makers and the general public. UVic and CCCma researchers jointly analyse model and observational data, collaborate on student training and co-author research publications.
The building centralizes SEOS faculty, who were spread out among seven buildings on campus. SEOS was the first university department in Canada to develop an integrated multidisciplinary approach to earth systems science. Bringing faculty together into one building enhances collaboration among UVic’s atmospheric, earth and ocean scientists.
The building includes “clean rooms” used to avoid contamination during measurement of minute concentrations of elements in seawater and freshwater. These studies are essential to understanding contamination from human activity and how trace elements help control biological productivity in the sea.
UVic now has some of the most modern synthetic chemistry labs in Canada. The university’s synthetic chemistry group is renowned internationally for its advances in the development of plastic magnets, data storage, and the study of genetics and proteins, particularly the roles they play in mediating diseases such as cancer.
The rooftop observatory will be home to the best on-campus telescope in Canada (to be installed in late 2009), putting the university at the forefront of astronomy education. UVic is home to some of Canada’s leading researchers in cosmology and observational astronomy.
Sustainability features of the building include: high-efficiency fume hoods that reduce exhaust air quantity by 40 per cent, resulting in energy and cost savings for heating and cooling replacement air; heat recovery through extraction from exhaust air; re-use of water from existing aquatic research facility for toilet-flushing; extensive use of natural light in interior spaces; and low-flow plumbing fixtures.
The building houses the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences (SEOS); a rooftop observatory operated by the Department of Physics and Astronomy; synthetic chemistry researchers from the Department of Chemistry; two large lecture theatres, offices, labs, meeting rooms and food services.
The building also hosts the Canadian Centre for Climate Modeling and Analysis (CCCma), a division of Environment Canada. The centre develops and runs the Canadian global climate model, which provides climate change scenarios for researchers, decision-makers and the general public. UVic and CCCma researchers jointly analyse model and observational data, collaborate on student training and co-author research publications.
The building centralizes SEOS faculty, who were spread out among seven buildings on campus. SEOS was the first university department in Canada to develop an integrated multidisciplinary approach to earth systems science. Bringing faculty together into one building enhances collaboration among UVic’s atmospheric, earth and ocean scientists.
The building includes “clean rooms” used to avoid contamination during measurement of minute concentrations of elements in seawater and freshwater. These studies are essential to understanding contamination from human activity and how trace elements help control biological productivity in the sea.
UVic now has some of the most modern synthetic chemistry labs in Canada. The university’s synthetic chemistry group is renowned internationally for its advances in the development of plastic magnets, data storage, and the study of genetics and proteins, particularly the roles they play in mediating diseases such as cancer.
The rooftop observatory will be home to the best on-campus telescope in Canada (to be installed in late 2009), putting the university at the forefront of astronomy education. UVic is home to some of Canada’s leading researchers in cosmology and observational astronomy.
Sustainability features of the building include: high-efficiency fume hoods that reduce exhaust air quantity by 40 per cent, resulting in energy and cost savings for heating and cooling replacement air; heat recovery through extraction from exhaust air; re-use of water from existing aquatic research facility for toilet-flushing; extensive use of natural light in interior spaces; and low-flow plumbing fixtures.
Media contacts
Valerie Shore (UVic Communications) at 250-721-7541 or vshore@uvic.ca
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