荔枝视频

You鈥檝e no doubt wandered past the massive MacKimmie redevelopment happening smack dab in the middle of main campus, but that鈥檚 far from the only project the university鈥檚 Facilities crews were tackling in 2018.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a busy year,鈥� says Boris Dragicevic, associate vice-president (facilities development). The years-long  improvement is by far the biggest of the more than 300 projects on the Facilities to-do list.鈥�

In between massive and everyday, there were loads of classroom renovations 鈥� from new comfy seating and a spruced-up look in Craigie Hall C Lecture Theatre and new finishes and upgraded technology in the Science Theatres Main Floor 126 and 128, to new floors, furniture, and power and data in EVDS studio space. Others will have noticed different pockets of new and improved spaces, from swimmers doing laps under better lighting at the Kinesiology pool and hungry folks finding more places to sit and nosh at the Dining Centre.

• Photo above: The redeveloped MacKimmie Tower, new link and block will be one of the most energy-efficient buildings on a Canadian post-secondary campus and strives to be net carbon neutral for annual operations. Photo by Riley Brandt, 荔枝视频

Facilities went off the grid, way off the beaten path, at the 鈥檚 Barrier Lake Research Station in Kananaskis. 鈥淲e built one of the most energy-efficient buildings in Canada,鈥� says Dragicevic. 鈥淭he R.B. Miller facility is designed to passive house standards. The 1,100 square foot structure is a totally standalone self-sufficient facility.鈥�

Up at Spy Hill, crews added 1,650 square metres to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine鈥檚 Clinical Skills Building, which is LEED Gold certified. Facilities put in energy efficient features to reduce power consumption while helping boost research, innovation and learning.

While many may have noticed the new red canopy on the Schulich School of Engineering building north of 32 Ave., the mechanical engineering students who venture inside are experiencing much more. 鈥淲e basically gutted that building and put in new mechanical, electrical systems and new finishes,鈥� says Dragicevic. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 take the skin off the building like we did at MacKimmie, but we did everything just shy of that.鈥�

Picking a favourite project in the university鈥檚 鈥渕ini city鈥� may be like picking a favourite child, but Dragicevic admits he is partial to the MacKimmie project because of the colossal  being built right in. 鈥淲e鈥檙e very proud of that one because of the leaps ahead we鈥檙e taking in energy efficiency,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t will be 90 per cent more efficient than it was in the '80s.鈥�   

Whether you鈥檙e walking past a building being renovated, studying in a refurbished classroom or sitting in your brand-new office chair, Dragicevic and the Facilities team are grateful for your understanding over the last year.

鈥淲e thank the campus community for being patient as we go through this,鈥� he says. 鈥淢acKimmie and several others are significant undertakings and they impact a lot of people, more than just the ones who use the buildings. We鈥檙e very appreciative because the projects have gone very well, people have been kept safe, and we鈥檙e meeting our schedules. We are very thankful.鈥�