Sustainable initiatives informed our design to create a highly functional and aesthetic environment for the BioSciences Renewal project, inspired by connections to nature and connections with the campus to reinforce the significant role of this facility at UBC.

The purpose-built teaching laboratories are designed for each bioscience discipline’s unique needs, from biochemistry and molecular biology to physiological sciences and botany. Classroom and administrative spaces connect to the campus through large, light-filled windows.

To encourage informal meetings, our design creates bridge connections between the existing and the new areas of the building. These links each have a different character to them, providing moments of study and conversation for students and faculty.

Drawing from the design team’s exploration of natural geometric patterns with the bioscience user groups, the frit patterns on the glazing of the building are modelled on patterns found in nature, including dragonfly wings and giraffe spots.

The building carries the classroom into the quad with the new Biosciences Courtyard, designed as an outdoor teaching platform that includes both Indigenous plants and plant collections from the Biology department. This design strengthens UBC’s commitment to create a Campus as a Living Laboratory.