Third Space Commons
Building Type
Single Family Home / Institutional
Location
UBC Vancouver Campus
Year
2021-2023
Architecture Partners
Dialog
Construction Partners
Ledcor
Engineering Partners
RJC (structural),
Integral (MEP),
RDH (energy & building envelope)
Stantec (Civil)
Suppliers
BC Helical Piles
Third Space Commons is an in-progress design-build project that will be built on UBC’s Vancouver campus from 2022 to 2023.
Our building has three lives.
The first is as an existing single-family home on UBC’s campus. Third Quadrant will deconstruct and adaptively reuse materials and systems from this existing building to highlight the feasibility and need for reuse in today’s building market.
In its second life, Third Space Commons will serve as a net-zero energy and carbon single-family home for the Solar Decathlon competition. With a pandemic and a growing population, our build responds to the need for flexibility in everyday life through its live-work typology. The space itself is adaptable to the needs of a family during different times of the day. Design decisions are guided by five key principles: carbon minimalism, circularity, flexibility, living lab, and resilience.
After the competition, the building will have a third life as a living lab and student-collaboration space for UBC students. The space’s flexibility will allow for both formal and informal interactions in the form of a classroom and commons area. Integrated building systems such as rainwater collection, mixed-mode ventilation, and smart controls ensure that students have a ‘living lab’ to learn about, experiment and test climate-resilient solutions.
