Canadian University Designs Net-Zero Energy, Net-Zero Water, and Net-Zero Carbon Lab Building
Located on the campus of the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, the 5,675-sq.m. (61,085-sq.ft.) Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) opened in November 2011. CIRS aims to become an internationally recognized research institution whose mission is to accelerate adoption of sustainable building and urban development practices. The vision behind the building is a “living lab” where researchers from leading academic institutions perform interactive research on and assessment of building systems and technologies, accelerating the path to sustainability.
“With the world’s urban population projected to jump by two billion people in 20 years, universities have a crucial role to play in accelerating solutions for the sustainability challenges facing society,” said UBC President Stephen Toope. “CIRS is a flagship project in UBC’s ‘living laboratory’ concept, where researchers, students, operational staff and partners develop sustainability innovations on campus to be shared with society.”
Designed in collaboration with Perkins+Will Canada architects, CIRS has capacity for housing more than 200 people from several academic disciplines, including applied science, psychology, geography, forestry and business, along with operational units such as the UBC Sustainability Initiative, which works collaboratively to integrate the university’s academic and operational efforts on sustainability.
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