The fall of 2019 welcomed the opening of the University of Lethbridge’s new Science Commons. The state-of-the-art facility is a sweeping structure outfitted with sustainable features such as automatic windows, natural ventilation, and integrated shading. The design aims to encourage student collaboration by way of translucent spaces, floating meeting rooms, a double-skin façade, and environments that are extensive in scale.
The building’s south side features double layers that separate to reveal a winter garden which grants exposure to the outdoors while allowing students to move freely indoors. Flanked across the upper section of the winter garden and supporting the façade are artfully inclined hollow steel structural (HSS) struts outfitted with Cast Connex® Universal Pin Connectors™ (UPCs) at each connection point. Cast Connex UPCs were also used to refine the connection of columns arranged between the interior façade and exterior curtainwall. This aspect of the project required UPCs in varying sizes (UPC-168, UPC-219, UPC-273, UPC-324) to complete the look of this elegantly designed, bright, and sophisticated space.
Owner: University of Lethbridge
Design Architect: KPMB Architects
Architect of Record: Stantec Architecture
Structural Engineer: Entuitive
Steel Fabricator: Whitemud Ironworks Ltd.
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