Elliott Building (1963 and 1964)

Sciences

Originally intended for the Lansdowne campus, early design work was undertaken by Alan Hodgson while working in Public Works. The design was finished in the department by architect Andrew Cochrane with exterior detailing by Jack Wilkinson.

The adjacent Lecture Wing by John Wade's office utilized tilt-up construction modules. A dominant feature is the concrete accordion roof housing a clerestory that floods the interior hall with indirect light.

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The main structure is a reinforced concrete building with pre-cast concrete panels on the exterior. Its three-storey laboratory wing and its four-storey office and research wing are aligned at right angles about a linking staircase and foyer section. A full basement accommodates workshops, stores and other technical facilities. The building was planned and designed for the Lansdowne Campus of Victoria College; but when the decision was made in 1961 to centre all development at Gordon Head, it was constructed on its present site during 1962 and 1963. The original occupants were the Departments of Biology, Chemistry and Physics (including Astronomy).

After the official opening of the main building, a separate contract was awarded for the adjoining "Elliott Lecture Theatre," a one-storey reinforeed concrete building with a folded concrete plate roof. Its two main lecture theatres rise from the basement level; there are additional smaller classrooms on both levels. The lecture wing is easily accessible from the main building both above and below grade.

Names

Percy Harris Elliott (1882–1943), was born in Chatsworth, Ontario. After completing an M.Sc. at McGill in 1907, he joined the faculty of Victoria College in 1908, lecturing in both physics and chemistry. Following a brief stint on faculty at the new University of British Columbia (1916–1920), he taught physics at the college until his death, serving as Principal from 1927 to 1943.

The John L. Climenhaga Observatory atop the north wing of the building is named after the founding Head of the University Physics Department, an astrophysicist who served also as Dean of Arts and Science from 1969 to 1972. Born on a farm near Delisle, Saskatchewan, Dr. Climenhaga was educated at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Michigan. He joined the Victoria College staff in 1949 and retired from UWC in 1982.