UBC’s campus and neighbourhood environments play a vital role in the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of students, staff, and faculty – so how can green building design enhance this?
During summer 2018, UBC Sustainability Scholar, Mina Parsian, worked with Campus and Community Planning staff to investigate how to create healthier work and living spaces on campus with the WELL Building Standard. The project identified the applicability of the WELL Building Standard to three academic buildings: the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability, Life Sciences Centre and Forestry Sciences Centre.
Parsian’s study is just one example from the many research projects that will be launched through the Green Building Action Plan over the next 20 years. The Green Building Action Plan embraces a Campus as a Living Lab approach, which engages with academic research to find innovative solutions to building design. By working with partners in buildings across campus, this approach will help achieve the vision of making net positive contributions to human and natural systems.
CIRS Living Wall | Photo Credit: Philip Bertogg
Learn more about Mina Parsian’s report “Understanding the applicability of the WELL Building standard to UBC's academic context” and read the full Green Building Action Plan here.