VANCOUVER — The University of British Columbia (UBC) is taking next steps in an ambitious student housing project.
The Pacific Residences will be located at the northwest corner of Wesbrook Mall and Walter Gate Road, with five buildings varying in size from seven to 10 storeys wrapping the perimeter of the site and surrounding the existing Gage Tower residences.
The approximately 34,500-square-metre project will have approximately 970 student beds as well as office space for Student Housing and Hospitality Services and other amenity and service spaces.
Pacific Residences, also known as the Walter Gage Infill Student Residences Project, is one component of a campus-wide program to increase the number of student beds available to those enrolled at UBC.
Documents displayed at open house events to showcase the project to the public, state the design rationale “seeks to create a new architectural addition to the varied typologies found within the Gage Precinct, while also building upon the recent Exchange Residence to the south, and Tallwood Residence to the northwest.”
Key goals for the project include use of recessed windows to create a “sense of depth” to the facades as well as variation through repetition and alternate patterning, the design rationale stated.
The facades will achieve this patterning through use of faceted metal that gives a “carved” appearance.
The project will also follow existing UBC policies for all publicly funded new construction and major renovation projects to achieve LEED Gold certification. Passive design strategies will be used to achieve energy targets before adoption of traditional mechanical solutions, and sewage heat recovery and solar power are also under consideration.
A two-storey underground parkade will provide approximately 200 parking spaces.
Construction of the Pacific Residences project will begin in summer 2019, and the anticipated completion date is August 2021.
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