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UBC Sauder School of Business adds 50,000 square feet in phase one of $85 M renewal

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The Sauder School of Business and the Robert H. Lee Graduate School at the University of British Columbia have unveiled the completed first phase of an $85 million renewal and expansion on UBC’s Vancouver campus.

The revitalization project adds 50,000 square feet to the existing 216,000 square feet of the Henry Angus Building, providing a new facility for the Robert H. Lee Graduate School and a dedicated undergraduate centre.

The renewed space includes flexibility to accommodate changes in teaching techniques and technology, and open areas for students to socialize, network and interact. Conference spaces and meeting rooms will connect students, alumni and the business community. Expanded videoconferencing capabilities will bring the global business community into the classroom. Receiving a face lift on its east façade, the facility now also offers amenities such as a café.

“Congratulations to everyone involved in this project,” said UBC President Stephen Toope. “The Sauder School and the Robert H. Lee Graduate School now have world-class facilities worthy of their stellar reputations, moving from strength to strength as the Schools continue to make a difference in our world.”

“We are incredibly proud of the Sauder community – our alumni, students, faculty, staff and the extended business community – for having transformed this collective vision into reality,” said Daniel Muzyka, Dean of the Sauder School of Business. “Thanks to their support, we now have a facility that represents the excellence of the business school and the community associated with it.”

Sauder aims to complete phase two of the revitalization by September, 2011. It will include the Canaccord Learning Commons, a new Conference Centre supported by Ernst & Young, Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCooper, new computer and research labs plus renovation of the remaining sections of the original building

This renovation is the culmination of several years of investment and engagement involving many segments of the Sauder community here and abroad – students, faculty, staff and alumni – as well as the business community, the University and the Government of BC.

Revitalization highlights include:

  • The creation of a new facility for the Robert H. Lee Graduate School
  • The Bruce R. Birmingham Commerce Undergraduate Centre featuring group and individual study spaces, classrooms, meeting rooms and breakout rooms for small-group work and interviews
  • The Middlefield Group Lecture Theatre - a large-size, state-of-the-art lecture theatre with attached conference rooms
  • The Jim Pattison Leadership Centre featuring two new lecture theatres, conference rooms and lounge spaces
  • The new Hari B. Varshney Business Career Centre - located at the main entrance - emphasizes the crucial link between students and the business community
  • Additional classrooms and spaces designed and equipped for distance learning and videoconferencing
  • The K.T. Tjia & Anna L.L. Chia Atrium that connects the old building with the new spaces
  • A new café and store
  • Creation of other open and flexible spaces for students to network, study and congregate in a comfortable environment

This revitalization is part of the Opening Worlds Campaign, chaired by Sauder alumnus Fred Withers, Ernst & Young’s Managing Partner for Western Canada. To date, more than $28 million has been raised from alumni and the business community to support the project.

The building reconstruction was designed by Acton Ostry Architects Inc. and constructed by the Scott Construction Group with UBC Properties Trust serving as the Project Manager.

The Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia is Canada's leading academic business school, recognized globally for its contributions to the transformation of business practices through innovative research and teaching. The school has more than 31,000 alumni in 74 countries around the world.

Contact:
Adrian Wee
Public Relations
UBC Sauder School of Business
Tel: 604.822-1491
Cell: 604.306-7137
Email:adrian.wee@sauder.ubc.ca

Lorraine Chan
Communications Coordinator
UBC Public Affairs
Tel: 604.822-2644
Email: lorraine.chan@ubc.ca