UBC Dairy Centre Student Residence

Featured in Azure Magazine:

With its subtle angles and deliberate design, reminiscent of the nearby Coast Mountains, the building's standing seam metal exterior creates a striking contrast against the rugged Fraser Valley scenery. The rhythmic pattern of vertical ridges and narrow windows along the building's facade, punctuated by vibrant yellow and green doors, evokes a keyboard-like impression. Conceived by Oliver Lang of Vancouver's LWPAC, the structure boasts a highly insulated shell and geothermal system, resulting in a low-energy building with zero on-site carbon emissions.

By enabling researchers to reside in close proximity to both their work and their colleagues, the facility fosters collaboration through communal areas, four-person living units, and an X-shaped courtyard. Practical, functional, and reflective of cutting-edge agricultural science – a sort of "farming-chic" aesthetic – the Dairy Centre's student housing offers an optimal micro-campus environment for scientific study and knowledge creation.

Innotech provided Tilt + Turn Windows, Terrace Swing Doors, Tilt + Turn Doors, and Tilt + Glide Doors for this project, featuring a black exterior and a white interior finish. These energy-efficient windows and doors played a crucial role in the building's highly insulated envelope.

Media Coverage

Azure Magazine: Ten Best Residential Projects of 2016

Photography by Ema Peter.