Simon Fraser University’s newest building in Surrey has been awarded LEED Gold Certification, for leadership in energy and environmental design.
The five-storey Sustainable Energy Engineering Building “represents SFU’s first major step in expanding beyond its Central City campus to become an integrated academic precinct within Surrey’s evolving City Centre neighbourhood,” according to a news release from Cristina Belmonte PR.
Designed by the late Bing Thom and Revery Architecture, the $126-million building opened in April 2019 on University Drive, north of 102A Avenue. It’s purpose-built to house SFU’s Sustainable Energy Engineering (SEE) program.
• RELATED STORY: SFU unveils campus expansion in Surrey for clean tech studies.
(Story continues below timelapse video of the building construction)
The landmark structure features teaching labs, an open atrium and 400-seat theatre, for both SFU and public use. The façade is designed to represent “circuit board” imagery symbolic of the tech subject matter to be taught there.
The 223,000-square-foot space is designed to buzz with 515 students, along with 60 faculty and staff.
Right now, however, the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted use of the building.
“For the safety of our students, staff and faculty, SFU continues to offer most courses through remote methods at this time,” said Angela Wilson, SFU’s senior director of media relations and public affairs. “Access to campus buildings is only available to current members of the SFU community (students, faculty, staff) who present SFU identification. The SEE building remains open to SFU community members who require access to that building.”
CLICK HERE to see more photos of the building.
LEED is a green building certification program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in an effort to give building owners/operators “a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.”
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