
The Clinical Skills Building expansion creates spaces for people to gather together and collaborate.
July 16, 2018
In September 2016, the Government of Canada announced funding for eight key University of Calgary infrastructure projects totalling $160 million as part of the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund (PSI-SIF). With all projects now successfully completed, this funding has helped improve the scale or quality of facilities for research and innovation, and/or improved the environmental sustainability of research and innovation infrastructure.
UCalgary has used the infrastructure investments to upgrade university research and learning spaces that enable innovation while helping to grow Alberta’s economy and enhance sustainability across all campuses.
“The renovations, renewals, upgrades and expansions are providing better environments for students and faculty to be successful,” says Boris Dragicevic, associate vice-president, facilities development. “By creating opportunities for creative teaching through infrastructure, students are able to develop their research skills and amplify their learning experience as they explore new ways of thinking.”
The funding also helps the university achieve its sustainability goals related to energy performance and emissions reduction, and demonstrates our ongoing leadership in high-performance green buildings.
Thanks to the collaboration and hard work of the faculties and units, facilities team, project teams, contractors, government partners and all those who stepped up to the challenge, the projects were planned, designed and completed on time, within a very short timeframe.
Vet Med project supports research priorities and helps achieve sustainability goals
The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Clinical Skills Building received PSI-SIF funding to add approximately 1,700 square metres to the existing LEED Gold-certified building. The additional space uses energy efficient features to prioritize exceptionally low energy consumption and has created extensive research, innovation and learning areas to support Vet Med’s critical clinical and professional skills programs and enhance diagnostic research and development.
“This expansion comes at a very important time as we are expanding our highly acclaimed Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program. We have purposefully created spaces for people to gather together to create more collaboration and better community engagement, and we now have the additional space we needed,” says Dr. Baljit Singh, dean, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
“Environmental sustainability is woven into our infrastructure and will continue to support our teaching and research as we move forward. It means we can do better things over a longer period of time without having a major impact on the environment around us.”
The Clinical Skills Building expansion creates spaces for people to gather together and collaborate.
Engineering Complex renovations and renewals create cutting-edge research space
New spaces for teaching, learning and research in the Schulich School of Engineering have been created through a full-scale interior renewal of Engineering Block C along with select renovations in Blocks B and D and the completion of the Canadian Natural Resources Limited Engineering Complex.
Increasing the sustainability of the complex, a 59 kWh rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) array installed as part of the PSI-SIF-funded Utility Reduction Program is helping to partially power air-handling systems on Engineering Block G and is expected to generate 66,000 kWh per year.
This project also facilitated renovations throughout the entire Mechanical Engineering Building; replacing aged engineering research spaces with modern, well-serviced wet and dry labs for the faculty’s mechanical and manufacturing engineering research teams, and significantly improved work space for graduate students, faculty and staff.
“The Engineering Complex’s redeveloped spaces provide students and researchers with improved core research and teaching facilities that will energize research possibilities and provide an enriched learning environment,” says Bill Rosehart, dean, Schulich School of Engineering.
Strengthening research and innovation through PSI-SIF-funded infrastructure projects
In addition to the Vet Med expansion and Engineering Complex renewal and renovations, the other PSI-SIF-funded projects making an impact at UCalgary include: