AMS Student Nest
# AMS Student Nest

AMS Student Nest is a building designed by B+H Architects in collaboration with DIALOG, opened on June 1, 2015, on the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The AMS Student Nest is a facility located on the north side of campus surrounded by other facilities, with the objective of an ecological, social and financially manageable space. The building design was aided by the students using on-site offices to interact with the students and twenty public charrettes and workshops. The design interpretation of the building included ideals of empowerment, advocacy, accessibility, diversity, sustainability, and community.

After the opening of the building, ArchDaily referred to the structure as "setting the benchmark for publicly engaged design", and it is recognized by LEED with the LEED Platinum certification.

## History

In 2008 a referendum took place that resulted in the decision for a new student union building. Negotiations for the building concluded in 2012, when a ceremony was held to celebrate the start of construction and to decide on a name. The building officially opened on June 1, 2015.

### The Alma Mater Society

The Alma Mater Society (AMS) was founded in 1915 and played a big role in the construction of "The Nest". The AMS started and organized the student vote to pay $80 million for the construction of a new Student Union Building. The AMS are advocates of sustainable design and aid students through in varying projects that look into social, economical and environmental design.

## Design

AMS Student Nest or "The Nest" had a variety of minds working to optimize the efficiency and productivity of the building. The building has an area of 23 700m² with a capacity of 300 people. The structure of the building was worked on by RJC Engineers using primarily wood and steel construction. The building includes a 5-storey atrium named "the Agora". The atrium includes terraces with seating across the two lowest levels that overlook "the Knoll" a popular place for students to gather outside. The large atrium is connected by many staircases to provide access. The building includes many structural challenges that were overcome, key aspects of the structural design include, the exposed wood nest that is held up by three skinny steel columns which houses a variety of student learning rooms. In addition, you can see a glass staircase from the atrium that is paired with four-storey high, boomerang-shaped glulam columns. Lastly, the cantilever on the south side of the structure reaches an area of 743-squared-meters while only being supported by, "one concrete structural V-column and three steel trusses spanning two storeys-high and weighing 50 to 80 tons each".

### Sustainable Design Integration

The AMS Student Nest received many awards on its current use and future plans for environmental design. The goal of the AMS is to have the building emit net zero carbon emissions by the year 2025. To do this, the AMS will analyze Greenhouse Gas emissions through, "electricity use, thermal energy from the Academic District energy system (hot water (HW) & steam), natural gas consumption, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems (HVAC), and AMS owned catering vehicle use". To reduce carbon emissions, the school plans to add Wi-Fi temperature control, light shelves, smart plugs and wind turbines by 2023 and more long-term goals being improving the building management systems, installing more solar panel for clean renewable energy, using renewable gas and using electric vehicles around campus.

## Awards

* Association of Consulting Engineering Companies British Columbia - Awards for Engineering Excellence - Award of Merit
* Canadian Wood Council - BC Wood Design Awards - Jury Choice Award Association of Consulting
* Illuminating Engineering Society of British Columbia - Edwin F. Guth Memorial Award for Interior Lighting Design - 2016
* Award for Innovation in Educational Architecture Engineering Award for Outstanding Steel Structure - CISC 2015 BC Steel Design Awards
* Re-Thinking the Future Sustainability Awards Second Award - Institutional Concept
