Thompson Rivers University Industrial Training and Technology Centre

The 5,344-square-metre Thompson Rivers University building School of Trades and Technology needed to meet an increasing student and labour-market demand. The new Industrial Training and Technology Centre (ITTC) building supports an increase of 550 full-time-equivalent student spaces in TRU’s industrial trades and technology programs, including for programs previously not offered such as industrial process technician, power engineering, HVAC/refrigeration technician and machinist.

The new state-of-the-art centre features classrooms, lab and shop areas, and it connects to the adjacent Trades and Technology building via a unique folded steel plate canopy. The $24M TRU building is a three-storey concrete building with a steel and wood framed roof. The building is located on a complex sloping site with poor soils. Fast + Epp designed an elegant steel-timber hybrid roof structure, respecting the best qualities of each material.

The new building has many open spaces, which will enable students to collaborate and learn from each other. Some programs moved from the Trades and Technology building to the new ITTC – the Faculty of Science’s Architectural and Engineering Technology (ARET) program took their place in renovated spaces, leading to growth opportunities for ARET, including expanding the program to a fourth year.

This project had a very aggressive budget and schedule associated with some government funding, requiring very active time management. The ITTC officially opened September 26, 2018.