UBC sues 3 companies hired during $40M seismic upgrade of Museum of Anthropology

Karin Larsen · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 29, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

The University of British Columbia is suing 3 companies that were contracted for the $40-million task to seismically upgrade the Museum of Anthropology.

The civilian suit is seeking unspecified damages for breach of declaration and negligence from named defendants Nick Milkovich Architects Inc., Equilibrium Consulting Inc. and Senaltek Ltd., alleging enactment they did near the museum's signature Great Hall damaged.

According to the claim, problems started erstwhile liquid grout seeped wrong caller beams and adhered to internal tensioning cables.

It says the grout prevented the beams from being "fully tensioned," and had to beryllium removed.

"The University says that Grout Seepage, and the resulting harm it caused to the Museum's Great Hall building, was caused by the acts, errors, omissions, negligence, responsibility and breaches of contracts of the defendants, and each of them," reads the assertion filed successful B.C. Supreme Court.

The filing does not picture the scope of the damage, but UBC spokesperson Erik Rolfsen said successful an email to CBC News that the gathering is seismically harmless and passed each testing, with each the issues alluded to successful the suit "remedied to the highest standard." 

"The assertion deals with costs incurred by the project's insurer successful fixing problems that arose during construction," helium said. "The assemblage volition not remark further arsenic this substance is earlier the courts."

None of the allegations against the 3 companies person been tested successful tribunal and nary responses person been filed.

The Museum of Anthropology reopened successful June of 2024 amid overmuch fanfare aft being closed for 18 months for seismic enactment and different improvements. 

Designed by Arthur Erickson and opened successful 1975, the depository — and particularly the Great Hall — is considered an architectural masterpiece.

Erickson's erstwhile student, Nick Milkovich, whose institution is named successful the lawsuit, was hired by UBC successful 2017 arsenic the premier advisor and coordinating registered nonrecreational for the renewal project.

According to the depository website, the Great Hall was wholly demolished and past rebuilt to modern standards connected apical of recently installed, below-ground basal isolators that "absorb the interaction of seismic activity, separating the gathering from the crushed and from the adjoining depository structures."

CBC reached retired to Nick Milkovich Architects Inc., Equilibrium Consulting Inc. and Senaltek Ltd. for remark but did not perceive backmost by clip of publication.