Authors: Tessa Wiehr & Diane Huang

The Human Connections subteam for UBC Common Energy’s Green Infrastructure team examined the human element of the rain garden stormwater interventions proposed by Green Infrastructure. We believe that the rain garden has great potential for recreation, enjoyment, and connection among the UBC community that extends beyond just university personnel. In the beginning, it was clear that the inclusion of Indigenous communities and peoples was of extreme importance both in design but also in collaborative processes. With this in mind, we wanted to inspire future campus planners to actively consider marginalized and/or forgotten communities as stakeholders and interested parties beyond just designing for them. Inspired by recent and historical social justice movements, the Human Connections team has researched topics of wellness, accessibility, and Indigeneity.

Section 1 is an overview of current UBC guidelines concerning human connections for campus planning and design. Section 2 examines the relationship UBC has with xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band) and Indigenous community members.  A tentative framework has been given for partnership concerning the rain garden. Section 3 offers insight into accessible design especially for seniors and persons with disabilities. Lastly, Section 4 contains valuable research on outdoor classrooms which can be taken as a recommendation for future projects.

There is a great need to consult and implement suggestions brought forth by all the communities of UBC beyond the two that is the focus of this section. As the effects of such a project differ between communities, consultation allows equitable design.

As students from various disciplines and various backgrounds, we hope this section  encourages future designers and planners to think beyond the prototype student: white middle to high class and able-bodied. UBC is highly diverse and design should reflect this reality.

1.2 Pre-Existing UBC frameworks for Connections

Currently, the Vision and Outcomes Statement that guides the physical evolution of UBC’s Vancouver Campus Plan over the next 20 years (as of May 2007), states that

“The UBC Vancouver Campus Plan supports UBC’s world-class community of scholars with a beautiful, functional, sustainable and cost-effective campus that provides the optimal environment for teaching, learning and research; reflects the stature of the university; encourages a unique community life; strengthens its connections with its neighbours and is responsible to future generations.” — Endorsed by the Board of Governors, May 2007

UBC Vancouver Campus Plan: Part 2 Campus Plan

As part of the framework for Part 2, The Campus Plan aims to achieve a campus that “balances the social, recreational and other needs of the campus community with the university’s academic and research focus and creates a vibrancy in campus that is appropriate to the university context” (p. 5). It also aims to “have a safe, healthy and physically accessible campus that meets user needs where the pedestrian experience is substantially improved and principles of universal design are integrated” (p.5).

Sustainability

Policy 1 – The Campus Plan, building on the University’s significant achievements in sustainability, will deliver continuous improvements in sustainable land use, buildings, infrastructure and landscape over time, and encourage systems-based integration of these elements as part of using the campus as a living laboratory for sustainability solutions and innovation. Sustainability principles underpin the plan’s policies and will inform its implementation. (p.10)

Policy 2 – UBC will use its land resource sustainably and develop a denser, compact form through infill and taller buildings to avoid sprawl, improve walkability, strengthen social connections and reserve land for open space and future academic needs.

The Campus Plan is driven by principles that support the long-term environmental, social and economic sustainability for land, infrastructure, buildings and landscape. UBC recognizes that sustainable land use leads to enhanced social interactions, improved health, safety and access; reduced demand for energy, water and other resources and more cost-effective projects and infrastructure systems (UBC Campus Plan Part 2, p.10). UBC hopes to use the campus as a living laboratory and innovation hub for sustainability solutions as demonstrated by research and pilot projects across campus. UBC has many Sustainability Initiatives on the UBC Vancouver Campus including the Climate Action Plan, 20-Year Sustainability Strategy, Green Building Action and Integrated Stormwater Management Plan, just to name a few.

In order to meet these goals, UBC hopes to increase student housing, decrease vehicular travel, create a more pedestrian and bicycle friendly campus,

Public Realm and Open Space

Policy 18 – The public realm will be improved to better reflect the stature of the university through the implementation of The UBC Vancouver Public Realm Plan (2009), and will integrate outdoor teaching and learning spaces, Knowledge Walks and interpretative gardens and landscapes to improve academic use of these areas

Improvements in the public realm will create more spaces for informal learning and socializing and continue to reduce the barriers to universal accessibility, fostering more equitable access to the campus and its facilities (UBC Campus Plan Part 2, p. 12). UBC hopes to implement more educational and interpretive installations across campus to facilitate outdoor teaching and learning and to showcase the University’s contributions to various areas of knowledge. Outdoor teaching and learning spaces, knowledge walks and interpretive gardens and landscapes are all suggested projects to make use of the outdoor campus as a valuable academic resource.

Policy 19 – A barrier-free environment will be created on the Vancouver campus over time, based on the principles of universal design.

Policy 20 –  Modifications to heritage resources will be supported where such changes improve accessibility to older facilities and landscapes.

The Campus Plan recognizes that the challenges to moving around the Vancouver Campus for people with disabilities include having long distances between buildings on a large campus, a complicated network of formal and informal pedestrian routes, a major slope rising from West Mall to the Main Mall, limited parking and vehicle access in the campus core and inconsistent access to main entrances, especially in older buildings. The Campus Plan aims to create a barrier-free environment, as part of creating an exceptional learning environment that is mutually respectful and fosters equity among all people regardless of their physical, sensory or cognitive abilities, backgrounds or experience. Creating a barrier free campus environment relies on three interrelated strategies:

  • Land use changes
  • Pathway and connectivity improvements
  • Facility design and retrofits

Policy 21 – The open space network for UBC’s Vancouver campus, identified in Map 2-3 Open Space Network, will balance the effect of infill in the campus core and host outdoor informal learning spaces, places to nurture the physical and mental health of the campus community, routes for non-motorized transportation and spaces for ecosystem services such as stormwater management.

In addition to their central role in defining campus character, open spaces on campus serve multiple purposes including non-motorized transportation routes, sites for outdoor informal learning, places to nurture the physical and mental health of the campus community and landscapes for stormwater management. Many of these uses rely on and benefit from the ecosystem services provided by open space, including pollination, nutrient cycling, the regulation of stormwater flows, views and natural beauty, and habitat. Therefore, the integration of bikeways, pedestrian paths and surface-level stormwater management components into the open space network is encouraged.

p. 54

Campus Land Use

Policy 11 – Opportunities to maximize the amount of informal learning spaces will be pursued as new facility and public realm projects are developed, as appropriate within the scope and context of each project.

UBC hopes to create more informal learning spaces and recognizes that learning goes beyond the classroom, laboratory and individual and group study spaces to include informal learning spaces. Students engage in academic discourse in a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces across campus, and though the setting may be loosely structured and the grouping may sometimes be spontaneous, the learning is intentional and genuine. Map 2-4 below shows the existing and future known learning spaces across campus.

Policy 17 – Mixed-Use Hubs, featuring independent-style student housing, child care, recreation facilities, food services and social space, and appropriate academic uses will be developed to foster social interaction and provide needed support services within a short walk of all academic precincts.

Also shown on Map 2-4 are Four Mixed-Use Hub locations which have been identified around the main campus to foster social interaction and provide needed support services within a short walk of all academic precincts. UBC’s Vancouver campus is large and dispersed, with many people feeling it lacks a central focus. Additionally, others would like more amenities and services to be distributed across campus to help to strengthen the sense of community and create a more cohesive campus. Therefore The Campus Plan puts forward the idea of Mixed-Use Hubs, which will concentrate social and housing uses in specific locations, allowing for the majority of the academic campus to remain less intensely developed. The Hubs will each have student housing, child care, recreation, food, social and convenience services, as well as outdoor commons.

p. 55

UBC Vancouver Campus Plan: Part 3 Design Guidelines

In the UBC Campus Plan Part 3, Section 2, focuses on Campus Wide Design Guidelines. Under 2.1 Sustainability, Section C. Social, Economic and Environmental Considerations states that all projects must be designed to integrate sustainable best practices in design including:

  1. An emphasis on social sustainability to bring students, staff, faculty, local neighbourhood residents, and visitors together for academic, recreational, cultural and leisure activities.
  2. Consideration of economic sustainability through use of design and material selection strategies that promote cost-effective, durable, and low maintenance buildings and public realm improvements.
  3. Environmental sustainability through energy and water demand management, rainwater management; respect for the forested setting for habitat and recreation; encouragement of horticultural diversity and low water-use, resilient landscaping; health and wellbeing; and showcasing of learning, research, and demonstration projects. (p. 9)

Section 2.2 University Accessibility includes a number of consideration all new building project designs must address. These include

  • Accessibility standards for buildings, including finished grade elevations, provision of dignified and universally accessible main entries, multiple entry options, and directional signage regarding accessible entries.
  • Exterior pathway accessibility standards, including measures to support an interconnected and accessible exterior public realm network, provision of project connections to the larger public realm network (not just the parking lot), suitable surface treatment of pedestrian routes, covered rest areas, visual and wayfinding support features, parking and drop-off facilities, and pathway gradient guidelines.
  • A simple collection of interior design fit-out adaptations, including considerations such as provision of sufficient manoeuvring space at doors, more universally usable door handle designs, countertop heights, stair nosing details, and other accessory considerations.

Additionally, Section 3.5.3 – Mixed-Use Hub Materials Palette, states that each Mixed-Use Hub open space associated with each Mixed-Use Hub will be informal and busier in some cases than academic courtyards due to the Hubs’ mixed-use daily program. Serendipitous exchanges, socializing and mingling amongst the academic community are important to its intellectual health and success, and are to be consciously fostered in Mixed-Use Hub open space design.

Each open commons shall aim to include:

  • A signature landscape feature unique to that hub
  • An ornamental water feature
  • A seasonal stormwater feature (may be same as above) (p.56)
  • Inviting access and wide visibility from the flanking street
  • Long-term and short-term bicycle racks
  • Fixed and movable seating and tables in both shade and sun
  • Seating proximate to and within plain view of shuttle/bus stop on street
  • High visibility to adjoining interior social and academic spaces
  • Pedestrian through-routes linking the spaces to academic and residential areas in at least three and preferably four directions.

1.3 Wellbeing, Outdoor Spaces and the University (can be an overview of what UBC has already done, other information important for outdoor spaces (therapeutic design etc.) such as rain garden)

The UBC Green Building Action Plan outlines a holistic pathway for academic and residential buildings at the UBC Vancouver campus to advance towards making net positive contributions to human and natural systems by 2035.

Health & Wellbeing

Under the Health & Wellbeing section, the Component Goals state:

  1. UBC will enhance the mental, physical and social dimensions of wellbeing by making them integral to building and landscape design decisions.
  2. UBC researchers, community stakeholders and building occupants will be engaged in a meaningful and ongoing way to inform building and landscape design decisions around health and wellbeing.
  3. ​​UBC will become a leader in enhancing wellbeing through the built environment within the context of higher education in Canada. (p.57)

The University acknowledges that well-designed spaces can: work to promote physical activity; enable social connections; improve productivity, learning, and overall health; foster equity and inclusion; and promote accessibility and ease of use. They state “Prioritizing health and wellbeing is foundational to the success of individuals and the overall community at UBC, and it is closely linked to biodiversity and place and experience component areas.” (p.57) The Action Plan, which was published in 2018, states that a Health and Wellbeing Strategy for Building and Landscape Design was being developed that will coordinate with the component goals and actions of the GBAP in the health and wellbeing component area, though the document does not seem to have been published (p. 33).

Place & Experience

Under Place & Experience, the Component Goal states:

UBC buildings and landscapes will provide opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and community development to reflect the social and environmental sustainability aspirations of the University (p. 63)

This section explains that design can express human and ecological well-being by teaching about the processes or systems within the building and by expressing their presence. Pathways to being Net Positive include:

  • Celebrating natural systems (e.g., University Boulevard stormwater feature)
  • Using locally appropriate materials (e.g., First Nation House of Learning use of locally selected timbers)
  • Fostering social connection and cohesion through design of exterior and interior spaces (e.g., the exterior/interior knoll at the Nest)
  • Building elements that tell a story and learning landscapes (e.g., rainwater leaders that show water collection at CIRS)
  • Exposing building systems creatively (e.g., Campus Energy Centre boilers) (p.64)