UBC/UEL Updates Discussion

[Coldrsx]

^i am actually impressed with not only the design but the variety of housing and intended occupant of said housing. It is obvious they want all forms of buyers and truly create a community rather than just students.

The quality of development is top notch thus far and having toured most of the other past developments on chancellor blvd and the westmall i call most of it a success.

[mr.x]

A bunch of science buildings will be renovated starting this summer, and Buchanan B will re-open in June while Buchanan A will be closed for a year as of May 1st for massive renovations.

I also believe that UBC sent in a $300-million request to the feds.

[dreambrother808]

good to hear about the science building renos. they are currently a bit of an embarrassment on campus.

[Alex Mackinnon]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

^i am actually impressed with not only the design but the variety of housing and intended occupant of said housing. It is obvious they want all forms of buyers and truly create a community rather than just students.

The quality of development is top notch thus far and having toured most of the other past developments on chancellor blvd and the westmall i call most of it a success.

The problem with having non student related housing so close though is that its killing on campus culture. Look how neutered the frat row is now. Look at Arts County Fair getting cancelled. Look at Oktoberfeust getting shuffled around until it was placed in the middle of nowhere (and subsequently ending up having ~60 attendees).

The quality of the developments are all fine and dandy, but if its not really doing anything for students or faculty on campus I don't think it should be there. Now I know the endowment could use the cash, but if they had to develop anything definitely it shouldn't have been a quiet bedroom community.

The fact that some active academic buildings got bulldozed for U-town makes it all the more ludicrous.

[Coldrsx]

^ok, i agree with some of that however I know a few profs and they LOVE being able to live on campus now.

Frat row is vastly improved... you have to admit that, even if "boring and all pretty" now.

the fair got cancelled? now that truly is a shame

[mr.x]

The fair was canceled due to financial constraints. It was a huge money loser in its final years.

[Alex Mackinnon]

A big part of it comes down to security constraints and related costs. Look at the replacement BBQ that the AMS put on last. 1000 maximum attendance, ~30-50 RCMP + Support RV, ~10 squad cars, and a paddy wagon. Getting events licensed was getting to be a huge deal with the RCMP at that time.

ACF also couldn't serve alcohol fast enough or in large enough quantity (due to license constraints) to really bring in that much of a profit. Most events (especially large ones) are planning with a potential for a 15000-20000 dollar loss on the part of the student societies. The last Oktoberfeust was planned for ~14K in losses, but lost ~21K because no one showed up.

Frat row might be largely improved from a physical standpoint, but I'd be willing to bet that the people in the frats wouldn't say that they're better off for it. I live in a frat myself (although we're off campus) and trading off our old house (which is decidedly falling apart due it being 88 yrs old) in order to live next to the cop shop and other groups which you'd have conflict with is not a trade I would be willing to make.

Unfortunately for everyone except ourselves and Beta, frat houses are merely leased, so they're pretty much at the mercy of campus planning.

[mr.x]

I'm happy to say that the AMS student body is set for a huge re-haul. The knollers/hippies/SDS will be kicked out, students are simply getting tired of these idiots being the face of the university, pulling antics that simply do not make any sense and opposing things just for the sake of opposing to them when any logical thinking person will see that they will do great things for the university.

There is a massive campaign by the business and anti-knoll clubs to get these hippies out of the AMS executive by sending in their own representatives/candidates into the election:

--President – ALEX MONEGRO

--VP Academic & University Affairs – JOHANNES REBANE

--VP Administration – CRYSTAL HON

--VP External – TIMOTHY CHU

--VP Finance – TOM DVORAK

[Jared]

Didnt they have issues with concerts at Thunderbird because residents (esp. seniors) were complaining about the noise?

I'd also have to agree that the underground bus loop in it's current for will be nothing short of almost useless within a few years. If nothing else, they should wait until the UBC Rapid Transit study is done so they know what type of RT they should be trying to integrate it with.

----------------------

Hey Alex, what year and department are you in?

3rd year Civil here.

[Alex Mackinnon]

4th year mining. Graduamutating next May, with the classes left to complete next year for credit. So I'm going for Civl 340,440 and some geo classes to fill in the blanks.

By the way, if any of you guys don't have anyone in mind for BoG vote for Andrew Carne. He's probably the most informed of the BoG candidates as to whats going on, and isn't a political hack (ie Bij.). He's been the EUS Secretary/ VP Admin for the last 3 yrs.

[fever]

I guess you can be a student forever

[mr.x]

The Law Building is getting razed this May, they're building a new one.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by Alex Mackinnon

4th year mining. Graduamutating next May

Spoken like a true engineer!

[Alex Mackinnon]

Heh, it took me a while to figure out what the "correct" incorrect spelling was.

[officedweller]

Originally Posted by mr.x2

The Law Building is getting razed this May, they're building a new one.

I saw a rendering, which I can't post - ut it has apparently changed since that one anyway.

Basically 3 blocks/wings of different heights in a rough H configuration.

[djmk]

Originally Posted by Alex Mackinnon

Look at Arts County Fair getting cancelled.

Arts County Fair is getting cancelled?

i think i went to eight consecutive fairs in a row and had a drunking blast at each one. students these days must be getting lllaaammmeeee......

[Alex Mackinnon]

It died last year actually. There was AMS block party instead. It sucked.

[AlexYVR]

Originally Posted by Alex Mackinnon

Most of UBC's sustainability stuff is half assed anyways. It's not really all that surprising.

I think U-town is going to come back to bite the university in the ass. Too many non-university related opinions are going to sway the course of campus development.

The underground bus loop is also going to be a big PITA within a few years. Simply said in its current form it won't work. There's going to be 4 loading bays, with a bus leaving every 2 minutes for each bay. I see nothing wrong with this plan...

I have to say, at least in regards to your first point. . .you're wrong. As someone quite familiar with campus architecture and infrastructure from both an ex-student point of view and a current development industry POV, UBC is surprisingly forward-thinking in much of their sustainability effort.

UBC Earns Top Sustainability Marks in Canada; Places Third Overall in North America

The University of British Columbia has earned top grade among Canadian post-secondary institutions and third overall in the College Sustainability Report Card, released today by the Sustainable Endowments Institute.

Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Sustainability Endowments Institute is a non-profit organization funded by the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. It surveyed 300 universities and colleges in the U.S. and Canada on their sustainability activities.

UBC is the only Canadian school -- and one of 15 in North America -- to earn an A-, the highest grade designated this year, ranking ahead of Columbia, Harvard, University of Washington and Stanford University.

“The Report Card assessed a broad set of indicators, including green building initiatives, recycling programs, administrative leadership and endowment investment policies,” says UBC President Stephen Toope, who earlier this year established the President’s Advisory Council on Sustainability to coordinate and advance the university’s operational and academic efforts. “It is especially gratifying to see efforts in all areas of our community recognized.”

http://www.greenreportcard.org/

The significant names in there are UW and Harvard, the two of which are pretty much the leaders in NA campus sustainability on a large scale. UW is important because the campus so closely reflect's UBC's on a demographic/size/endowment level, and Harvard because they have approximately 30 zillion more dollars to throw at sustainability efforts than UBC does.

[Alex Mackinnon]

Theres a few programs of theres which really haven't done much other than make a lot of noise.

The Mercury recycling project was one which always amused one of my profs. It basically resulted in additional cheap mercury being available to artisanal miners in 3rd world countries. Translation is that their program resulted in pretty much direct emissions into rivers or small towns in the form of mercury vapour.

The reason why I'd say most of the buildings are half assed is quite simply because a large portion of them have simply worked liked crap. The CHBE and Strangway buildings have both had large problems with their HVAC systems, the Fred Kaiser building has proven itself to be either too hot, or cold depending on weather conditions and has had numerous design deficiencies come up over the course of the last 2 years.

THE CHBE building problem is quite amusing as it once resulted in a pressure drop which subsequently cause some sealed lab chemical containers to crack, forcing evacuation of the building.

The large upgrade projects on old buildings are also kind of an interesting thing that UBC does. On a lot of old buildings maintenance is relatively poor, so some of the bulidings being renovated under UBC renew quite simply are using that major renovation as a substitute for continued maintenance.

The "sustainability street" project ran out of money, so it doesn't really do much in its current form.

It might not be UBC's intentions to half ass things, but it seems that their sustainability related projects never quite work right.

[Rusty Gull]

UBC’s anthropology museum reopens

18 MONTH, $55.5 MILLION RENOVATION TO BE FULLY FINISHED FOR OPENING CEREMONIES

Dr Anthony Shelton addresses guests at the MOA opening last Sunday.

BY SARAH EDEN
NEWS WRITER

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

After a six-month closure, the Museum of Anthropology re opened this Sunday with a new exhibition and an emphasis on the collaborative focus of the expanded and renovated space.

Hundreds gathered in the re furbished Great Hall to listen to Dr Anthony Shelton, the direc tor of MOA, describe the prog ress of the renovation and what patrons should expect when the full project is completed in time for the 2010 Olympics on January 23, 2010. Shelton pro nounced the new MOA as one that will “take its place again to be one of the major power houses of Vancouver.”

The ceremony marked the completion of Phase I of MOA’s $55.5 million “Partnership of Peoples” Renewal Project. By nearly doubling its size, the mu seum will be able to house major visiting exhibitions that would have otherwise skipped Vancou ver on their tour. This increase in size will also include various amenities for museum guests in cluding a café, a not yet opened theatre, a Cultural Research Suite and the now partially open Centre for Cultural Research. The Cultural Research Suite, with its oral history language lab, lounge and archives research room, will be a particularly useful tool for students studying First Nations.

Another aspect of the Renew al Project that has officials at the museum pleased is the Recipro cal Research Network (RRN). The RRN will facilitate research by providing unprecedented access to collections from North America and Europe in one single network. MOA has nearly finished digitalizing its 35,000-piece collection. Part of the process of this archiving has been working with First Nations community members to ac curately label and describe the museum’s collection. With this collaboration Shelton hopes that the museum displays “the mate rial as the people who made the material want it to be shown.”

After Shelton’s address to the crowd, the Pacific Islanders Hugagesea Club sang and dance to welcome the museum’s new exhibition: TATAU: Samoan Tat tooing and Global Culture. The exhibit features photographs taken by New Zealand’s Mark Adams during his 30 years of documenting tattooed Samoans and tattooists.

The museum also revealed a panel installation for its open ing by Coast Salish artist John Marston. The panel is entitled “’ehhwe’p syuth” or “To Share History” and is joined by video segments from the movie Killer Whale and Crocodile which doc uments Marston’s trip to Papua New Guinea and subsequent in spiration to carve his panel.