2020 Classroom Chair Replacement Program

Over the month of March, UBC will be replacing many of its aging classroom chairs through an accelerated chair replacement program. Replacing aging assets such as chairs is normal on campus and approximately 700 – 900 classroom chairs are routinely replaced each year in order to ensure that UBC’s inventory of chairs meets basic requirements such as safety, durability, ergonomics and ability to support modern pedagogies and can be easily moved by our operations staff who set up classrooms each morning.

The chair replacement will take place during evenings and weekends in March, to take advantage of special funding that was made available.

Why is UBC replacing chairs?

• It was recently discovered that a number of chairs are broken, causing damage to classroom floors. This triggered an investigation and audit of all classroom chairs under the purview of the Learning Spaces Team. As a result of the audit, it was decided to proactively replace chairs of similar age and condition before they began to break and damage classroom floors.
• Additionally, some classroom furniture is being replaced for ergonomic and pedagogical reasons. Tablet-arm chairs in Buchanan D are being replaced with either tables & chairs, or a newer style of tablet-arm chair with a large centered tablet and wheels.

What chairs will be replaced?

• The chairs being replaced are at least 13 years old and at, or nearing, end-of-life. Many chairs, such as those in Buchanan D and Neville Scarfe, were re-purposed from previous building renovation projects.
• Chairs will be replaced in the following classrooms:

What will happen to the chairs being replaced?

• The intent is to minimize the amount of waste going into the landfill by re-purposing where possible and recycling when that is not an option.
  
  • About 15% of chairs will be re-used in various UBC projects such as the UBC Life Building Swing Space Classrooms.
  • Chairs that are still functional, but nearing end-of-life, will be offered to various School Boards and charities for re-use.
  • Chairs that are damaged, broken or at end-of-life will be disassembled and recycled into core components (plastics, metal).