The AMS Student Nest at University of British Columbia

The AMS Student Nest is a new student union building (SUB) sitting at the heart of the University of British Columbia campus. Working on a constrained site, Bird built the five-storey, mixed-use building between the existing SUB and the new alumni building while ensuring all deliveries were handled on a just-in-time basis.

Client

University of British Columbia Properties Trust

Consultant

DIALOG

Contract Type

Construction Management

Project Size

20,900 sq. m
(225,000 sq. ft)

Duration

Undisclosed

Project Value

$90,000,000

UBC Nest Long Staircase with Glulam Beams

The LEED^® Platinum certified building makes extensive use of Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood and features a unique sawtooth roof of glulam trusses and cross laminated timber panels. A focal piece within the new building is the exposed wood nest that stands on three slender steel columns, making it appear to be floating two-storeys-high in the building.

Other exceptional features of this building include the glass staircase and the four-storey high, boomerang-shaped glulam columns. Cantilevered off of the south side of the structure is the 743-square-metre. Great Hall, which is supported by one concrete structural V-column and three steel trusses spanning two storeys-high and weighing 50 to 80 tons each.

The project received numerous accolades, including the 2015 Steel Design Award from the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction for the outstanding steel structure, and the 2016 General Contractor Award from the Vancouver Regional Construction Association.

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