UVic reports no injuries, says it ‘too early’ to determine impact on project costs
Photo by Keila Brock.
Early in the afternoon on June 8, part of the currently under-construction Engineering and Computer Science Building expansion collapsed.
At the beginning of the day, columns of rebar and post-tensioning cable stood tall above the High Bay Research and Structures Lab (HBRSL) construction site. Later in the day, the rebar lay toppled over, causing a temporary closure of Ring Road.
A UVic spokesperson told the Martlet that no one was hurt, but Ring Road was forced to close for several hours Sunday afternoon so the material could be removed from the road.
The Engineering and Computer Science Building (ECSE) expansion and the construction of the HBRSL began in 2024. Both projects have been in the works since 2019, beginning with a planning phase, followed by design from 2020–2023.
The ECSE will have a common atrium with the existing ECS building, and will house an undergraduate design studio, workstations for graduate students, faculty collaborations space, offices, and a variety of labs.
The HBRSL will house equipment for large-scale geotechnical and environmental research, including large lab spaces near ground level, and office spaces on the upper floors. The lab will be equipped with a reaction wall and a shake table to test materials against simulated earthquakes. The high headroom in the lab spaces is needed to use cranes indoors safely.
Mechanical engineering student Taz Oldaker said he noticed the disturbance when a friend saw a bus backing up around Ring Road. In an interview with the Martlet, Oldaker said the bus was stopped by a “massive pile of rebar” that had collapsed over the road.
“Strong wall structural rebar and post tensioning cables collapsed,” at the site, the UVic spokesperson confirmed in a statement to the Martlet.
Structural rebar is steel bars that are used with concrete in order to strengthen structures against climatic conditions. Post tensioning cables are used in the construction of high-rise buildings — like the High Bay Research and Structures Lab — because they increase the load-bearing ability of concrete structures, allowing longer distances between weight bearing columns, and flexibility in interior layouts.
“UVic is working closely with their project partners,” the statement continues, “and an investigation into the incident is now underway.”
Although he isn’t aware of project details, Oldaker said that it wasn’t windy the day the structure collapsed.
“It was a clear day,” he said “so it [seemed] to just completely collapse under its own weight … It made almost no sound [either], because we didn’t hear it.”
Oldaker said it looked to him “[like] they just didn’t consider how weak the structure was before they poured the concrete.”
Several Reddit users were quick to point out the irony. One user commented that “they used too much structural air.” The irony of the collapse was not lost on Oldaker, either. “I find the whole situation very funny, very sort of …. endearing, almost” he said.
UVic told the Martlet they have begun an investigation into the incident, but they do not foresee changes to the project’s design.
“It is too early to determine how this incident might impact the costs of the project,” a UVic spokesperson told the Martlet.
Both the contractor, Bird Construction, and the architecture firm, DIALOG design, declined to comment on the incident.
Oldaker said that the incident makes him feel less optimistic about the project. “It’s going to take way longer than they say,” he said, “[and] it’s probably going to have problems … if it’s already having problems before it’s even built.”
Although UVic previously projected that the build would finish in 2024, they currently estimate that the project will be finished in 2026.
Oldaker said that his peers in the Civil Engineering program are low on lab space, and much of their work is currently being done outdoors, in tents. He thinks the building expansion will benefit students in the program “as long as it gets built to the quality it’s supposed to.”
