Seismic Planning Timeline

2022

Seismic projects

Seismic projects, retrofits, and rebuilds are ongoing on the UBC Point Grey campus. Below are a few of the projects that are ongoing or have recently been completed:

  • HEBB Building Renewal (2019) – Full seismic upgrade of existing six-story Physics and Astronomy Building
  • New Water Pump Station (2021) – Reduces the campus’ vulnerability in regards to water outages post-earthquake
  • Macleod Building Renewal (2022)– Building structurally designed to achieve a high resilience level of Immediate Occupancy post major earthquake event.
  • Jack Bell Building for the School of Social Work (SOWK) – This project is currently in the design stage.

2021

  • Executing the recommendations laid out in the 2019 ARUP report
  • Working with ARUP on the following Seismic guidelines:
    1. Seismic Real Estate Framework and Roadmap to Resilience
      • This guideline establishes a vision for seismic resilience on the UBC Point Grey campus
      • This will serve as a guide to help leaders, decision makers, and planners, as the campus develops to plan for resiliency for our buildings and spaces.
      • Establishes objectives, goals, and objectives that set the framework for Project teams in conjunction with the REDiTMRating System
      • Guidelines
    2. REDiTMRating System: Resilience-based design Initiative for the Next Generation of Buildings: Earthquake Edition, developed for the University of British Columbia, Vancouver
      • This guideline provides guidance to project teams in regards to achieving resilience and performance-based design, relative to the targets as set out in the Real Estate Framework
    3. Guidelines for Seismic Protection of Building Contents
      • This guideline is for indicative building contents recommended for restrain and methods of restraining
  • Seismic studies completed on the UBC Point Grey campus
    • Completed Phase 2 of the Detailed Modelling phase: This evaluation is intended to improve the confidence level in predicting how these buildings will perform in an earthquake and the associated risk to the University. To date, we have completed studies in an additional nine buildings, bringing the total to 27 buildings reviewed and studied to date.
  • To date, we have reviewed an additional 28 buildings which were previously identified as having insufficient records available to perform accurate structural assessments on. These structural assessments are now complete and we are in the process of updating the overall campus risk level.
  • Completed concept feasibility studies for retrofit concepts on most of the 27 buildings

2019

  • ARUP report looks at a conceptual plan for the long term renewal of campus assets.
  • The report provides unique insights into possible structural impacts that allows UBC to consider “surgical interventions” before full building replacements.
  • The plan also contains a conceptual plan for the long term upgrading and renewal of highest risk campus buildings, non-structural upgrading, utilities, and various operational matters
  • Read the 2019 ARUP Report

2017

  • ARUP report on campus looks at the bigger picture
  • Refreshes the previous assessments based
    on new methods and knowledge
  • Quantifies the risks to people, assets, and core functions on campus under various earthquake scenarios in explicit terms
  • Identifies critical vulnerabilities in buildings, utilities, and operations and proposes initial strategies for cost-effective mitigation
  • Read the 2017 ARUP report

2012

  • Follow-up study with Glotman Simpson
    Consulting Engineers and JM Engineering
  • Identifies a number of our buildings as high or very high seismic risk
  • Several buildings are retrofitted or replaced following this survey

1994

  • Comprehensive seismic assessment of the full building stock on the Vancouver campus
  • Some of the highest risk buildings identified at this time were seismically upgraded as part of the UBC Renew program between 2003 and 2011