Discover more from A Campus Resident
“The Power House was one of the first permanent building to be constructed at the new Point Grey campus. Built in 1924-25, with additions in 1948 and 1961, it was considered to use cutting-edge power generation technology when it was first constructed” (UBC Wayfinding, July 19, 2023).
The UBC Powerhouse, tucked behind the old Firehouse (which is also slated for removal) off of West Mall is an iconic example of industrial modernism. Now decommissioned and awaiting destruction, the Powerhouse epitomizes the industrial centralism of 20th century capitalism. This one facility, originally fired by coal burning boilers ultimately by gas, produced the steam that heated UBC’s campus throughout the 20th Century.
“The Power House at 2040 West Mall comprises the original 1925 building with its prominent chimney, the compatible 1947 addition at the south end of the original building, and the identically-detailed 1961 and 1970 additions at its southwest corner that are distinguished from earlier building parts by virtue of their Modernist styling.”
“The Power House is valued for its campus location and physical setting, its compound exterior form and character, its voluminous interior spaces and their power generation/distribution equipment, its association with the architects, and its enduring campus presence that symbolizes UBC’s independence as an institution – all values that contribute to the building being a unique record of the university’s origins, expansion and evolving culture.”
“Steaming chimney stacks have made the Power House a prominent and enduring campus presence since The University’s first years at Point Grey. The original portion of the building is a part of the very earliest cluster of buildings on campus, along with the Science building (today part of the Chemistry building), the Library, and the nine “semi-permanent” buildings (Arts, Agriculture, Applied Science, Administration, the Auditorium, four laboratory/workshop buildings) and the Old Fire Hall. With these other inaugural structures, the Power House helps mark the physical scope of the earliest campus.”
“The Power House is a commanding physical presence in the interior of the block bounded by Main and West Malls, Agricultural Road and University Boulevard – an island of building in a field defined by buildings at the block’s perimeter.”
“For displaying its function as a heat generation system for campus buildings, the Power House symbolized the historical independence and isolation of the UBC Point Grey campus – both defining characteristics of the campus and the institution from its inception, and seen as key to the institution’s ideal intellectual life and culture.”
“The Power House is an excellent record in one building of the emerging Modernism of postwar campus architecture . The original building, designed in the Collegiate Gothic style, represents the striving for traditional respectability in the early years. Its 1961 and 1970 Modernist additions are part of the postwar aesthetic break from that earlier traditionalism; the glassy transparency of the Modernist additions, dramatically displaying their generator equipment and functions, reflects the dynamism and openness of the University following the war.”
“The Power House is a veritable museum of the steam generation: its generators, ducts, valves, and pumps and their associated instrumentation all display the evolving history of steam-driven district heating using coal, then fuel oil and finally natural gas. The equipment is valued for representing state-of-the-art technologies at various times in this history of fossil fuel-fired steam generation, and also valued for its use as an educational tool for mechanical engineering students during the facility’s working life.”
“The Power House interior is a rarity for its pure visual impact. Navigating through the complex array of colour-coded mechanical equipment, ductwork, gauges and electronic equipment on open steel decking and staircases at varying levels within huge volumes of open interior space – all lit dramatically by expansive window walls – is to experience a succession of extraordinary, sometimes vertiginous, interior vistas.”
“The Power House is valued for its association with the Vancouver architectural firm, Sharp & Thompson (later Thompson Berwick & Pratt). The firm designed the campus plan in 1913, all of the original campus buildings (excepting the Old Fire Hall, designed by the Public Works Department) and most of the buildings on campus up until the 1970s. The building is also important for having its 1961 and 1970 Modernist additions designed by the locally prominent architect, Barry Downs, while he was practicing at TB&P” (Statement of Significance, 2016).
Preserving the memory
The Powerhouse is currently in the process of being deconstructed to make way for the Commerce Faculty’s ‘powerhouse project:’ “The Powerhouse Project will harness the power of our global community, including 47,000+ alumni, 4,600+ students and 550+ faculty and staff to drive this transformation.” The project page declares “Society is Changing” … “rapid change in the new normal.” They might well have quoted the venerable 19th century commentators who penned:
“All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and man is at last compelled to face with sober senses his real condition of life and his relations with his kind. The need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the entire surface of the globe.”
But they didn’t.
The original project plan submitted to UBC’s Board of Governors in March 2022 suggested the 1961 modernist addition would be kept:
“The project includes integration and adaptive re-use of the Power House Addition as an entry/multi-purpose podium with spaces to facilitate social connectivity and to encourage the exchange of ideas, opinions and knowledge.”
This is no longer the case. UBC Facilities has a detailed explanation of the demolition process. The powerhouse is being destroyed and replaced with a “stunning 11-storey building.”
I asked Campus Planning and UBC Facilities to explain why the powerhouse was now being destroyed. Matthew Roddis, Associate Director Campus Design, responded:
The initial intent for the Sauder Expansion was to incorporate elements of the original Power House structure into the new building design. As per the Vancouver Campus Plan Policy 43, heritage resources ‘shall be retained where viable, as determined by comparing the costs, functionality, campus fit, and ecological and heritage impacts of retention versus replacement, with the depth of analysis scaled to the significance of the resource.’ Following a detailed analysis, including engineering and constructability reviews, the team identified several major challenges to retention, including:
Significant risks with asbestos and lead contamination. This impacts the ability to safely upgrade the existing structure as well as the removal of the existing boilers which would necessitate large segments of the structure be disassembled;
Much of the existing structure (including the existing openings, roof structure, and columns) would need to be rebuilt to bring the building up to current seismic standards to allow other uses to be considered (many of the key character-defining elements rely on thin building assemblies which are challenging to retain in such an upgrade);
If the existing structure was maintained, the grades would not provide a dignified accessible route from West Mall to the main entrance of the new building; and
Its scale/volume and location on the site make integration with a new program very challenging.
In addition to the above, there are considerable costs associated with maintaining the structure as an interior space, drawing resources from other program needs. After a review process that weighed all the criteria, the conclusion was that retaining the Power House was not feasible. My understanding is demolition is planned to start imminently.
I also asked UBC what plans they had to memorialize the Powerhouse. Roddis had this to say:
“Regarding keeping a memory of the building, we’re currently looking at creating a photo installation of the Power House in the Campus Energy Centre to describe the evolution of energy on campus. In addition, you may be interested to know that the project is focused on reflecting Sauder’s relationship with Musqueam. The project includes an Indigenous Business Centre and is gathering input from Musqueam and indigenous students to ensure its success. Furthermore, the design team is developing the exterior expression and cladding to reflect and embrace features and qualities found in nature and indigenous planting in the landscape.”
It’s not clear from the communication -or the powerhouse project webpage- what the Commerce Faculty’s exact relationship with Musqueam is. There are several commerce faculty programs targeted to the Indigenous market place. What is revealed in the design plan is the persistent ‘natural historization’ of indigenous peoples that links building design to ideas of naturalism (see story on the Gateway Building). This echoes an underlying euro-centric imaginary in which First Nations are outside of history and exist in a timeless ‘natural’ world (or otherwise are inauthentic representations).
Industrial Modernism and BC
BC entered confederation in 1871 as a well established industrial extraction zone (fish, fur, timber, and minerals). 150 years later BC remains primarily an industrial extraction zone. We can talk about the urban service sector or get impassioned about innovation and Silicone Valley North. Nonetheless, BC remains a place to extract minerals, energy, timber, and fish. There are other things, but this industrial core remains the driving force behind UBC’s ability to be a ‘global’ leader. The Powerhouse was a naked testament to UBC’s roots in the industrial extraction industry. Industrial extraction might appear less relevant imposing these days (like the new pumphouse tucked alongside the Dorothy Somerset Studios), but UBC, and by extension BC, wouldn’t be what it is without this industrial core.