Taylor Family Campus Centre Redevelopment project

🚀 SAIT Welcome Centre pilots pop-ups around campus

(Aug. 29, 2024) Before the SAIT Welcome Centre opens for business inside the new Taylor Family Campus Centre, students will have the opportunity to connect with staff and services at a pop-up version. The Welcome Centre will guest spot as a pop-up during key academic periods — starting with Fall 2024 Orientation.

What’s the SAIT Welcome Centre all about? With a mission to revolutionize the student experience and deliver service excellence, the Welcome Centre will open in late 2027 and will blend cutting-edge technology with student-centric design to create a seamless, engaging experience for current and future SAIT students.

🚧 Construction site preparation in progress

(April 8, 2024) Construction activities are ongoing. Heavy machinery will be present as the site is prepared for construction to begin in the spring. Please continue to pay attention to construction signage. Follow instructions and use the detours in place.

🚧 Exterior design development

(Jan. 29, 2024) At this stage of the design development, most exterior and structural elements of the new building have been finalized. In the coming months, the interior design will be detailed and construction drawings will be developed. Site preparation is underway for construction to begin in the spring, continuing through 2027.

📺 Time-lapse video: Campus Centre building demolition

(Nov. 1, 2023) Watch the demolition of SAIT's Campus Centre building through Oct. 30, 2023.

🏗️ SAIT selects design-build partner for new Campus Centre building

(May 17, 2023) SAIT has selected Bird Construction with GEC Architecture as the design-build partner for the new Campus Centre building.

Bird is a well-respected builder in the Canadian construction industry. Their work includes the Brookfield Residential YMCA at Seton, Remington YMCA in Quarry Park, University of Calgary MacKimmie Tower Redevelopment, Calgary Central Library and renovations to the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.

GEC works across Canada from studios in Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto. Their work includes the large-scale renovation and expansion of Bow Valley College’s north and south campuses downtown.

The design phase of the Campus Centre Redevelopment project will continue through early 2024. Discussions with key stakeholder groups across campus will occur throughout the summer and early fall to inform the design.

♻️ Green for good

(April 23, 2023) Throughout the project, a holistic and sustainable building decommission strategy is being implemented. This includes a thorough assessment of building elements to determine what’s suitable for salvage, resale, donation and recycling.

Partnering with Green Standards, the redevelopment project has diverted 98.9% of old furniture and equipment from the landfill, contributing $95,768 of in-kind donations to support 11 community organizations. The diversion equals offsetting electricity use from 19 homes for a year.

🏗️ Campus Centre is closed

(April 3, 2023) Decommissioning inside the building will continue into the summer. Building demolition will occur in phases to ensure the safe removal of asbestos-containing materials. Chandos Construction is the general contractor for the decommissioning and demolition.

SAIT and AUArts students and employees can access campus recreation resources at the temporary Wellness Centre facility located behind East Hall residence.

The Campus Centre building is at the end of its lifecycle. Major renovations to building infrastructure and repairs to maintain as-is will exceed 65% of existing building value.

Upgraded functionality is also necessary to support universal accessibility and to provide large gathering spaces for the SAIT community.

A new building project will maximize value and opportunity to best support a great student experience on campus.

SAIT students and employees; AUArts students and employees.

The temporary recreation facility is designed to ensure barrier-free access.

A barrier free building is designed so all its components are accessible to all users. It is designed so everything from the height of the light switches, countertops and washroom accessories to the path of travel are free from barriers.

Asbestos abatement consists of the safe removal of asbestos-containing materials (ACM) from a building. ACM are present throughout the Campus Centre in wallboard, flooring, insulation and mastics (adhesives used to bind and seal other building materials to each other). Abatement is a normal part of the decanting and demolition of buildings constructed before the 2000s, such as the Campus Centre.

Asbestos abatement risks and precautions

Asbestos becomes a risk when its fibres are released into the air. Exposure to asbestos is not a concern when ACM are undisturbed and maintained in good condition.

There are many precautions taken during asbestos abatement to ensure both workers and the larger SAIT community are not exposed. These precautions are required by Alberta Occupational Health and Safety legislation and include restricted access, containing the work area under negative pressure, personal protective equipment (PPE) to help protect abatement workers in the work area, waste cleanup requirements and rigorous air monitoring to ensure asbestos fibres remain within the work area. If air monitoring reveals fibres above background levels, SAIT’s Health, Safety and Environment Services will inform the SAIT community.

Several asbestos abatement projects are currently occurring within the Campus Centre, and one on the exterior of the building.

Managing abatement projects indoors

Asbestos abatements indoors are performed based on the requirements of Alberta Health and Safety legislation and those in the Alberta Asbestos Abatement Manual. Work areas are contained and under negative pressure, and are inspected multiple times per day for leaks in the containment. Air monitoring in areas adjacent to asbestos abatement containments is performed to detect any release of asbestos fibres.

Managing abatement projects outdoors

Abatement workers are scraping dried mastic from concrete block walls with non-powered hand tools on the exterior of Campus Centre. This project, under asbestos abatement regulations, is referred to as low-risk because the asbestos fibres are bound within the mastic layers and do not become airborne when pieces of that mastic are removed with hand tools. The workers themselves wear disposable coveralls and respirators so that pieces of mastic do not build up on their clothing and so they don’t unintentionally ingest the mastic. For the same reason, these work areas are fenced off to restrict access. As an added precaution, air monitoring is performed here periodically to ensure asbestos fibres are not released.

Learn more about asbestos management at SAIT and contact Health, Safety and Environment Services for more information.