b'PROJECT PROFILEDESIGN RENDERINGS COURTESY OF PERKINS+WILLA SPOTLIGHT ONSUSTAINABILITYUVics Student Housing and Dining Project introduces Vancouver Islands largest Passive House initiativeBy Matthew Bradford T he University of Victoria (UVic) is making bold moves in sustain- installation of a temporary modular dining hall and civil site services able development. In May 2020, the facility broke ground on theirwork on the main site and modular food services site. Surrounding Student Housing and Dining Project, which will introduce theaccess roads have also been widened.largest Passive House initiative on Vancouver Island. As for the buildings themselves, David Hill, Principal with Colliers, Our motivation is ultimately to support the student experience, saysreports that the sixth-floor suspended slab and mass timber installa-Mike Wilson, Director of Campus Planning and Sustainability. Theretion is in progress on Building One, with mechanical and electrical is a huge demand for rental accommodation in the region, andrough-ins, interior framing and building envelope development providing on-campus options helps support UVics student recruit- well underway. ment and retention efforts. The Building Two schedule follows Building One with a lag of The 333,000-sq.-ft. project is being led by Colliers Project Leadersaround six months, he adds. Raft foundations are due to complete and under construction by EllisDon Kinetic. It includes two buildingsthis month, and vertical concrete is progressing to second-floor currently under development in tandem. Building One will house asuspended slab and slab-on-grade pours are due in early May 2021.new 600-seat dining hall, commercial kitchen, multi-purpose room, convenience store and coffee shop on its lower two floors withFOCUSING ON STYLE AND COMFORTstudent housing above. Building Two will include classrooms, confer- UVics newest additions are designed by architect Perkins+Will. ence facilities, meeting spaces and a Student Indigenous Lounge onAmong the highlights are a sleek and modern exterior, mass timber its first two floors with more student housing on its upper levels.podium on Building One, floor-to-ceiling windows throughout and Early work for each building has already been completed, includingenhanced thermal insulation to reduce noise. Plans also include the deconstruction of two existing residence buildings and thethe creation of the UVic Campus Greenway, a 1.1-km pathway that universitys dining hall and commercial kitchen, as well as thewill connect the building and public spaces on campus and serve as 14 BCBEC ELEMENTSA BCBEC PUBLICATION'