UBC has opened a $45 million expansion of the Beaty Biodiversity Centre, made possible by philanthropic support from the Ross and Trisha Beaty family and Gordon B. Shrum, matched by UBC.

The Centre houses the Biodiversity Research Centre and the Beaty Biodiversity Museum. The expansion enhances UBC’s ability to address biodiversity loss with new research and meeting spaces that foster interdisciplinary collaboration within the university and with external partners. It also adds a new fossil storage room for the Beaty Biodiversity Museum and a pollinator garden supporting local biodiversity.

The extension adds about 48,000 square feet over six storeys and is “2050-ready”— designed for thermal comfort, adaptable to changing rainfall and optimized for indoor air quality in future climates. Other features include bird-friendly patterned windows and a pollinator-friendly garden planted primarily with native species. Etro Construction was the general contractor.

More than 100 BRC research faculty span multiple UBC departments. The new meeting spaces and partner offices will promote collaboration between researchers, municipalities and community partners such as the Hakai Institute, the City of Vancouver, and more.

“UBC is recognized as one of the top biodiversity research centres in the world, and through this partnership the university is taking another major leap forward,” said Dr. Benoit-Antoine Bacon, UBC president and vice-chancellor. “This state-of-the-art space will further strengthen UBC’s expertise in advancing biodiversity knowledge to drive positive environmental change across British Columbia, Canada, and the world.”