As part of a feasibility study for the rehabilitation of UBC’s Old Auditorium as an ‘Opera Centre’ for the School of Music, the future of the 15,000 sq. ft. Hut M-18 came under review. Constructed in 1925 as a temporary service building, this underutilized heavy timber frame, shed roof ‘heritage’ structure has performed various light industrial roles for the campus, most recently providing storage and shop space for Music and Theatre’s stage props.

Following the feasibility study, the building was initially renovated in two phases between 1999 and 2001. The northerly one and two storey spaces were assigned to Fine Arts studios and faculty offices with a forty person classroom. The southerly portion of the building had a second floor added to separate music practice facilities from the theatre workshop and prop storage. The building was seismically upgraded and received full fire and life safety improvements, new washrooms, accessible entrances and a freight lift in theatre storage, at a total cost of $1.4M.

In 2003, CAGP was asked to carry out further renovation to Hut M-18, including the introduction of a 1,000 sq.ft. mezzanine in the two storey painting studio and conversion of the theatre shop/storage areas to a Fine Arts wood and metal fabrication shop. A new large format rehearsal studio for theatre in the southerly two storey space was created to compliment the adjacent rehearsal functions in a similarly renovated Hut M-17. Total cost for this work is $600K, 2003-2004.