University Centre (1977 and 1978)

 

This is a two-storey reinforced concrete building with a bush-hammered finish. Its main office wing is surrounded, on both levels, by a colonnade of concrete pillars. Its roofline features prominent mechanical penthouses, finished in copper.

Planned to be a focal point of campus activity, University Centre was conceived in the presidency of Hugh E. Farquhar and became a reality in the presidency of Howard E. Petch. The office wing was completed and occupied in 1977. It houses, on its ground floor, Student Records and Admissions, a Board and Senate Chamber (with adjacent committee rooms), a large lobby area, a cafeteria and lounge and the Maltwood Art Museum and Gallery. The Museum's storage space is on the basement level, as well as a large parking garage. The original occupants of the upper level were Accounting Services, Graduate Studies, Continuing Education, Summer Session, Student Services, Counselling, Financial Aid, Canada Manpower and Chaplain's Services.

The showpiece Auditorium, Canada's first "surround" hall, was opened a year later, in September 1978; it seats 1,233 people on ground floor, balcony and choir loft. Among the acoustical features of the Auditorium are colourful sound-absorbing banners, designed by Victoria fabric artist Carole Sabiston. In 1978, Dr. Joyce G. Clearihue donated the Clearihue Organ in memory of her parents, Judge Joseph and Dr. Irene Clearihue.

Name

 

Katharine Emma Maltwood, F.R.S.A (1878–1961), was an English-born sculptress and antiquarian who bequeathed to the university her magnificent collection of fine, decorative and applied arts, along with the original Maltwood Art Museum at Royal Oak, then known as "The Thatch."

Facts and Figures

Architect: The Wade Williams Partnership
Structural: B. W. Brooker Engineering (BC) Ltd.
Mechanical: D. W. Thomson & Company Ltd.
Electrical: Ian Hayward & Associates Ltd.
Acoustical: Bolt Beranek & Newman Inc. (T. J. Schultz), [New York]
Theatrical: S. Leonard Auerbach & Associates, [San Francisco]
Food services: Harley, Little Associates Inc., [Richmond]
Contractor: Poole Construction Ltd., [Richmond]
Contract: $7,167,512 (Apr. 22, 1976); $8,113,127
Gross area: 179,900 sq. ft.
Cost per square foot: $45.10
Official opening: September 28, 1978 (Special Convocation and Concert)

 

See UVic's maps and buildings description.

 

Schematic Drawings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photographs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Model (by West Coast Models)