leləm̓ Community Centre

Situated within the UBC Endowment Lands in Pacific Spirit Park and on the ancestral land of the Musqueam people, this community centre is part of a comprehensive master plan community, leləm̓ – thoughtfully designed to emphasize the Musqueam commitment to environmental stewardship, sustainability, and a vibrant sense of community.

The two-storey community centre includes an inviting entrance lounge, administrative offices, a gym, versatile multi-purpose areas, catering and kitchen facilities, conference rooms, and fitness area. Building spaces are formed around double height entry atrium with a feature stair. Generous roof overhang at the main entry offers ample space for outside activities.

The structural system of this facility is an example of truly hybrid construction where materials are used based on ‘right material for the right place.’ Mass timber was utilized for the roof, which made the building structure lighter, shorten on-site construction times, and allowed for architecturally pleasing exposed wood surfaces.

Steel columns and lateral load resisting braces throughout the building employed the high strength properties of steel and maximized the usage of available space. Additionally, steel vertical elements in conjunction to the mass timber components contributed to a reduced construction timeline.

Concrete construction was used to make up the foundational system to ensure long term durability, as well as being applied in the fitness and multipurpose activity spaces to minimize vibrations and enhance robustness.

In the gymnasium, the wide open space was achieved with a long-span solution of narrow tapered glulam beams, alongside a roof paneling system using conventional plywood over dimensional lumber joists – which were designed to fit in between glulam beams.

Completed project images courtesy of Francl Architecture – Nancy Silva Grife

The top taper of the glulam beams allowed for natural slope for water drainage, and eliminated additional rigid insulation typically required for roofs. The rest of the building roof was completed utilizing prefabricated NLT panels over glulam beams.

Informed by the importance of the buildings connection with the nature, this project targeted LEED Gold, and the structural design had high sustainability aspirations. Reclaimed wood in the form of repurposed existing wood logs owned by Musqueam Capital Corporation was used for a portion of NLT paneling.

Construction images below via Kinsol Timber