FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THE FRED KAISER BUILDING RECEIVES THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF BC MERIT AWARD
Bellingham, Wash. May 21, 2008 - Northwest entrepreneur, Chairman and CEO of Alpha Technologies, Inc., and founder of The Alpha Group, Fred Kaiser was pleased to have The Fred Kaiser Building, on the campus of the University of British Columbia, receive the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Merit Award for Excellence in Architecture. The award was announced on Saturday, April 26, at the 2008 AIBC Architectural Awards during the Architectural Institute of British Columbia’s annual conference.
“The current global situation is expanding the debate on how to create innovative sources of renewable energy,” said Fred Kaiser. “Having this building be the home of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and be positively recognized for its green architectural design, provides a very real stimulus for the minds of our future technical leaders and how they will create solutions to some of today’s energy related problems.”
Judges on the AIBC jury stated that the five-story structure, part of the Faculty of Electrical & Computer Engineering on the University of British Columbia’s Main Mall, manages to be everything a hall of higher learning should be: a smart combination of administrative offices, seminar rooms, research labs and public space. The building was designed for a LEED® Gold rating, featuring a full spectrum of sustainable design elements, while addressing the challenges of a highly constrained building site. The judging panel felt the building also provides a seamless link to the surrounding buildings while bringing a contemporary face to the campus.
“What stood out is how the materials are used. Big buildings necessitate a logic and clarity of flow. I think it’s refreshing,” said the AIBC Awards Jury. “And the scale fits with the modernist legacy. It’s spectacular in its form.”
Dedicated in September 2005, The Fred Kaiser building was designed by Omicron Architecture Engineering Limited with lead design architects Michael McColl, Peter Clewes and Adrian DiCastri.
Alpha Technologies Inc., develops power conversion, protection and standby products for cable television and telecommunications, including custom, application-specific power solutions. In addition to product development, Alpha Technologies provides a comprehensive range of installation and maintenance services to support its global customer base. Alpha Technologies is a member of The Alpha Group of companies.
The Alpha Group represents a global alliance of independent companies that share a common philosophy - create world-class powering solutions for communication, commercial, industrial and renewable energy markets.
For this and/or additional information in electronic form, go to http://www.alpha.com/.
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