A New Milestone at Menno Hall: The Tree of Life Takes Its Place
An exciting moment at Menno Hall as the Tree of Life is carefully lowered into its new home within the building’s grotto. This striking landscape feature will become a focal point of the space, bringing natural beauty, warmth, and a sense of connection to the built environment. Its installation marks another significant milestone in the project’s progress and brings us one step closer to completion. It’s rewarding to see the thoughtful collaboration between architecture, landscape design, and construction coming together as the vision for Menno Hall continues to take shape.
Shape Architecture Completes Menno Hall at the Gateway to UBC
Shape Architecture is pleased to announce the completion of Menno Hall, a new mixed-use project in the University Endowment Lands, directly across from the gateway to the University of British Columbia.
Conceived as a place where living, learning and community overlap, Menno Hall brings together Pax House student housing, additional rental housing, and the Peacebridge Institute, which includes lecture and administrative spaces. The project’s varied programs are unified through a clear architectural language, creating a cohesive new presence at this important threshold between the University Endowment Lands and the UBC campus.
Materiality and environmental performance are central to the design. The building incorporates cross-laminated timber, bringing warmth, texture and a strong expression of structure to the project while supporting a lower-carbon approach to construction. Designed to meet BC Energy Step Code 4, Menno Hall pairs high-performance building systems with passive and landscape-based strategies.
The project’s relationship to water and landscape is expressed through a rainwater collection grotto and green roof, both of which contribute to stormwater management while enriching the experience of the site. These elements move beyond purely technical performance, becoming part of the architectural character of the project and reinforcing a close connection between building and landscape.
At the urban scale, Menno Hall responds to its prominent gateway location with a strong civic presence while maintaining a sense of warmth and domesticity appropriate to its residential uses. The composition of academic, administrative and housing programs creates activity throughout the day and supports a layered community of students, residents, educators and visitors.
Rather than treating sustainability as a separate system, the design integrates structure, envelope, landscape and water management into a unified architectural approach. The result is a project shaped equally by performance, material expression and the social life it supports.
Shape is proud to have collaborated with an exceptional team in bringing Menno Hall, the Peacebridge Institute and Pax House to completion.
PROJECT UPDATE: UBC Recreation Centre North Receives Occupancy Permit
SHAPE Architecture is proud to announce that the highly anticipated UBC Recreation Centre North officially received its occupancy permit in June, and is now open to students, staff, and community members.
This milestone marks a significant achievement for UBC Athletics & Recreation, whose vision and dedication have brought the project to life. Recreation Centre North is poised to become a vibrant hub for health, wellness, and community engagement on campus, offering state-of-the-art amenities for fitness, sports, and programming.
“Congratulations to UBC Athletics on this incredible accomplishment,” said Nick Sully, Managing Partner at SHAPE Architecture. “This new facility represents UBC’s ongoing commitment to student well-being and to providing inclusive, world-class spaces for recreation and connection.”
The official opening date and details on facility programming will be announced in the coming weeks.
AWARDS: CCS Prevention + Support Centre Project Wins Public Vote in the Archello Awards!
The votes are in! We’re thrilled to announce that the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS): Prevention+Support Centre was the Public Vote Winner for the Archello Awards, Residential Care Building of the Year!
The building is home to the Canadian Cancer Society’s West Coast Headquarters and features a new state-of-the-art cancer research and support center. The integrated patient lodge serves as a wellness center, designed to provide a quiet and peaceful retreat for patients and their families during treatment. Learn more about the project here: https://bit.ly/4gjdC3S
PROJECT UPDATE: The Grange Receives Heritage Commission Approval
Exciting news! The Grange, located at 1395 W 14th Avenue, has received unanimous approval from the Heritage Commission. This development includes the conservation of a three-storey heritage building, and the addition of a tower and a podium. The project will consist of several new communal spaces that provide opportunities for fostering community within the building.
We are thankful for all of our amazing partners and their collaborative efforts in reaching this significant milestone.
Owner/Operator: Fiera Real Estate
BC Indigenous Housing Society
Development Manager: Colliers Strategy & Consulting
Heritage Conservation: Donald Luxton & Associates
Pre-Construction Manager: ETRO Construction
Structural: RJC Engineers
Mechanical: Introba
Electrical: AES Engineering
Civil: CREUS Engineering
Landscape: PMG Landscape
Building code: GHL Consultants
Traffic: BUNT Engineering
Geotechnical: Geopacific Consultants
AWARDS: Finalist in the 2024 Archello Awards
Exciting news! Two of our projects have been nominated as finalists in the 2024 Archello Awards!
For the Residential Care Building of the Year category, the Canadian Cancer Society: Prevention + Support Centre features an aluminum tube screen wrap that creates an inviting exterior while consolidating entries and adding community spaces for guests and staff. Upon entering the building, visitors are greeted by a beautiful oak stairway that fosters connection and interaction among patients and the community.
In the House Extension of the Year category, the Cardero Heritage Revitalization & Infill project revitalizes historic West End Vancouver by creating affordable, mid-density rental housing. This project restores two heritage houses and includes the construction of an infill residence. By balancing sustainability with historic preservation, it presents a vision for the “missing middle” in urban housing, revitalizing a vibrant corner of the community.
Your support means the world to us! Please visit Archello.com (links to each category above) and cast your vote today!
Canadian Library Month Wrap-Up: Learning Environments Feature
To celebrate the conclusion of Canadian Library Month, we are excited to share projects that highlight learning environments.
Bob Prittie Metrotown Library Lobby. Libraries are essential public institutions that promote cultural awareness, community engagement and educational programs. For this project, our team collaborated closely with Library staff to turn this key nexus into an open and inviting threshold.
Maple Grove Elementary School. Seamlessly blending indoor and outdoor learning environments, Maple Grove Elementary offers cozy nooks where students can engage in quiet study while staying visually connected to the exterior environment. This design fosters a serene atmosphere for reflection and creativity—emphasizing the school’s commitment to innovative, flexible learning spaces.
Truth & Reconciliation Day
SHAPE Architecture is closed on Monday Sept 30th to observe the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This statutory day is one of the 94 Calls to Action issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report. Also Orange Shirt Day, it honours the lost children and survivors of Canada’s residential school system. It is a day for thought and reflection – by educating ourselves, we raise our awareness of the inter-generational impacts of Indigenous history, and what it means for reconciliation.
Join us in developing a better understanding, learning more about the calls to action, and how you can get involved. Below are links to learning resources and events happening today in the Greater Vancouver area.
Learning Resources
94 calls to action published by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Reconciliation Through Indigenous Education – A free online course offered by the University of British Columbia, exploring how reconciliation can be made part of the daily life in classrooms, organizations and communities in ways that are thoughtful and respectful.
Indigenous Canada – A free online course offered by the University of Alberta, exploring histories and contemporary perspectives of Indigenous peoples living in Canada
We Were Children
10:30 am – 4:30 pm
1st screening: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm / 2nd screening: 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Trout Lake Community Centre
3360 Victoria Drive,
Vancouver, V5N 4M4
Orange Shirt Day at Grandview Park
11:00 am – 3:00 pm (Walk meet up at 10:00 am, starting at 11:00 am)
Grandview Park
1657 Charles St, Vancouver, BC V5L 2T4
PROJECT UPDATE: Cladding for UBC Recreation Centre North
Cladding details up close. SHAPE Architecture was thrilled to collaborate with LAM Metals again (check out Maple Grove Elementary for our last collaboration) to develop 3 custom metal cladding profiles for UBC Recreation Centre North. We then randomized these panels using parametric design (and good taste) to create a textural appearance that changes depending on the distance it’s viewed from, as well as the time of day.
Client: UBC Recreation
Owner’s Rep: UBC Properties Trust
General Contractor: ETRO Construction Cladding: LAM Metal
PROJECT INFO: Spotlight on Newton Recreation Centre’s Public Art
It’s all in the details. Today we’re spotlighting “Fern Façade”—a public art installation by artist Sean Alward. Ceramic ink-fused (frit) glass patterns in the shape of fern fronds wrap around both the south and east windows of the Newton Recreation Centre, forming a tree “grove” that envelops the building and weaves it into the existing landscape of trees framing the facility.
While beautiful as a mural, the floor-to-ceiling patterns serve a functional purpose in providing coverage to block out just the right level of sunlight for moderating temperatures. Working with the artist, we used an algorithm to calculate the optimal level of pattern coverage, relative to the amount of sunlight, while still allowing views of the exterior plaza spaces.
Have you experienced Fern Façade yourself? Let us know. Find out more about the project here.
