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Case Study

Museum of Anthropology at UBC – Great Hall Seismic Upgrade

Year Completed

2024

Capital Cost

$40M

About This Project

With its distinctive architecture, stunning sea-to-mountain views, and rich collection of art from Northwest Coast First Nations, the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) is an important cultural destination in Vancouver.

The Great Hall Seismic Upgrade project helps protect the museum’s collections and preserve the Arthur Erickson-designed architecture. The project focuses on improving the Great Hall’s earthquake resilience while maintaining its original architectural character and extending the building’s lifespan. A key part of the technical solution was separating the Great Hall from the rest of the museum and installing base isolators to reduce the impact of seismic activity. This allows the space to move more safely during earthquakes while helping protect the museum’s collections.

Design and construction decisions were made in continuous consultation with the Musqueam Indian Band and other Indigenous communities, with input from the Arthur Erickson Foundation to help preserve the building’s architectural integrity.

Although the seismic upgrade focused on the Great Hall, the rest of the museum remained in use throughout construction. Museum offices continued to operate, and much of the museum stayed open to visitors. This meant demolition and construction noise had to be carefully managed to minimize disruption to visitors and staff, while vibration had to be controlled to help protect the museum’s collections. There were also concerns about the noise impact of demolition and construction activities on nearby residents.

Scope of Services

For this project, we provided acoustics, noise, and vibration consulting and monitoring for proposed demolition and construction activities. The work focused on two main objectives:

  • Minimize demolition and construction noise affecting the operating museum and surrounding community.
  • Prevent construction vibration from damaging the displayed collections.

Specific services included:

  • Conducting sound and vibration measurements at multiple locations in the museum during nighttime demolition activity trial runs to assess transmission throughout the building.
  • Analyzing collected data and providing a comprehensive report, including: anticipated demolition and construction activities; appropriate noise and vibration criteria; measured results compared to criteria; and recommendations for noise and vibration management.
  • Designing sequencing and temporary hoarding designs to reduce construction noise and vibration transmission.
  • Predicting construction noise impacts on nearby residences and Green College, and proposing mitigation strategies.
  • Developing monitoring locations, installing continuous measurement equipment, and setting up automated alerts for threshold exceedances.
  • Reviewing construction noise and vibration management specifications.

Project Benefits

Our noise and vibration control solutions helped:

  • Support the protection of collections and heritage spaces: On-site measurements, allowable vibration thresholds, and continuous monitoring enabled early detection of potential risks, minimizing the chance of damage to artifacts during demolition and construction.
  • Support ongoing museum operations throughout the upgrade: Construction noise and vibration were carefully managed so the museum could remain open to visitors and staff with minimal disruption.
  • Manage noise impacts on the surrounding community: Predictive noise analysis and mitigation measures helped protect nearby noise-sensitive land uses, supporting positive relations with the local community.

We collaborated closely with UBC and the architect, Nick Milkovich Architects, to ensure the project achieved its objectives. The project later received a 2025 Special Jury award from the Architecture Foundation of British Columbia (AFBC).

BKL’s relationship with the UBC Museum of Anthropology predates this Great Hall seismic upgrade project. We provided acoustical design services for the original design in 1974 and have consulted on various expansion and renovation projects at the building since it opened in 1976.

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The People Behind Our Work

Our Technical Leads

  • Paul Marks
    Paul Marks

    M.Sc., MIOA

    Vice President, Project Delivery

    Paul Marks

    Paul Marks, M.Sc., MIOA

    Vice President, Project Delivery

    Paul Marks joined BKL in 2013. He is a full corporate member of the UK Institute of Acoustics and the Canadian Acoustical Association. He has over 20 years’ experience in the measurement, analysis, and assessment of noise, vibration, and acoustical matters and is a former member of the technical advisory team working with the UK government on noise and statutory nuisance issues. During this time, Paul has undertaken major projects within Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

    He has experience in a wide range of multi-disciplinary environmental assessment projects including highway, rail, and air transportation infrastructure, mixed-use and brownfield regeneration schemes, renewable energy facilities, and power generation plants.

    Paul also has experience in a broad range of building and architectural noise assessment projects including the design of residential, office, educational, and commercial buildings. He has also undertaken acoustical studies for major infrastructure developments including work in the design of appropriate sound-fields for room-spaces in multi-occupancy buildings, including atriums and performance spaces. His work regularly involves close liaison with other acoustical engineers, planning consultants, architects, designers, and a variety of specialist environmental consultants.

    Paul is an experienced expert witness within the UK and has a broad experience of planning, licensing and statutory nuisance proceedings as well as being responsible for the successful design of a variety of impact mitigation measures including detailed engineering solutions, lay-out design, and administrative regimes where it has been necessary to closely liaise with clients, designers, and regulatory bodies in order to provide developments in accordance with sustainable principles.

  • Katrina Scherebnyj
    Katrina Scherebnyj

    M.A.Sc., P.Eng., MIOA

    Technical Director, Building Acoustics

    Katrina Scherebnyj

    Katrina Scherebnyj, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., MIOA

    Technical Director, Building Acoustics

    Katrina Scherebnyj started consulting in acoustics in 2007 in England and joined BKL in 2014. Her experience covers architectural acoustics, mechanical noise control, and environmental noise control, and she has worked on major projects in Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

    In architectural acoustics, Katrina has worked on a range of new builds and refurbishment projects including schools, universities and higher education facilities, hospitals and healthcare facilities, performance spaces, cinemas, laboratories, office buildings, hotels, and residential buildings. She has provided acoustical design services in relation to sound insulation, room acoustics, and noise control.

    Katrina was a co-author of Music Accommodation in Secondary Schools: A Design Guide, published for the UK Department for Education in 2010. Researching the guide, she carried out acoustical measurements in the music departments of several schools and interviewed music teachers and students on the suitability of their music spaces.

    Katrina has extensive experience modelling internal sound fields and has carried out numerous models of performance spaces, lecture theatres, and other spaces where acoustical design is critical. She also has experience modelling outdoor noise propagation and has constructed and reviewed noise models for Columbia Containers in Vancouver, BC Children’s and Women’s Hospitals, the Pinnacle (once planned to be London’s tallest building), Crossrail, and other transportation projects.

    Katrina is a member of the Canadian Acoustical Association and the Institute of Acoustics (UK).

  • Henning Schlechtriem
    Henning Schlechtriem

    M.Sc.

    Managing Specialist Acoustical Consultant

    Henning Schlechtriem

    Henning Schlechtriem, M.Sc.

    Managing Specialist Acoustical Consultant

    Henning Schlechtriem, M.Sc., joined BKL in February 2020. He has 8 years of international project experience working as professional acoustical consultant in the design and assessment of residential and non-residential buildings.

    Henning has a Master’s Degree in Acoustics with Environmental Applications and a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering with specialization in building physics and acoustics. His professional expertise focuses on the fields of architectural and environmental acoustics. He is a proficient with software such as Odeon, SoundPLAN, STRUTT, Insul, Rhino+Grasshopper, Max/MSP, and with measurement equipment from Brüel And Kjær, NTi and Norsonic.

    He has worked together with architects, investors, municipalities, as well as structural and mechanical engineers, covering a wide range of projects including office, residential, and mixed-use buildings, hotels, hospitals, schools, and cultural venues. His work has involved the acoustical design and on-site assessment of room acoustics, sound insulation including flanking transmission, environmental noise and noise from building services.

    Henning has given presentations to architects and technical planners to share his knowledge about the acoustical design of masonry, concrete and lightweight constructions, timber-concrete hybrid buildings and general acoustical challenges during the design of buildings.

    He is a member of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Akustik, the German Association of Acoustics (DEGA) and is an Approved Assessor for Acoustics and Building Physics at the Chamber of Engineers in NRW and Hessen (Germany).

  • Headshot of Andrew Williamson
    Andrew Williamson

    P.Eng., B.S.M.E.

    Specialist Acoustical Consultant

    Headshot of Andrew Williamson

    Andrew Williamson, P.Eng., B.S.M.E.

    Specialist Acoustical Consultant

    A graduate of the University of Victoria, Andrew Williamson holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and has practiced as an acoustical consultant in BC for over two decades. He joined BKL in 2023.

    During his career, Andrew has worked on numerous projects involving environmental noise assessments, building noise and vibration control, and architectural acoustics. As a project manager, Andrew has led acoustics teams on a variety of projects across sectors including cultural and recreation, education and research, health care, industrial, commercial, and residential.

    Andrew has attended public meetings, open houses, and government-sponsored working groups to present and discuss technical information with the public, municipal councils, and members of the government and other organizations. In addition, Andrew has acted as an expert witness in BC Supreme Court and participated in a joint review panel hearing for the environmental assessment of a major infrastructure project.

    Andrew is a Professional Engineer registered with Engineers and Geoscientists BC.