University of Victoria Student Residences

Driven by a growing student body and residential capacity, this new student residence facility marks an outstanding academic accomplishment. With a dynamic and sustainable plan to elevate social living and student engagement, the development will boost live-in students’ academic experience while fostering community and creating a welcoming environment.

The first mixed-use student housing on campus, both buildings are organized to include a publicly accessible lower podium with housing floors above. The eight-storey building, named Čeqʷəŋín ʔéʔləŋ (Cheko’nien House), contains a 600-seat exposed mass timber dining hall, multi-purpose room for 200 students, servery, and commercial kitchen, in addition to 398 bedrooms. The 11-storey building, named Sŋéqə ʔéʔləŋ (Sngequ House), contains two 235-seat tiered lecture theatres, a conference centre—including a 400-seat banquet hall and a 100-seat meeting room—and 385 bedrooms. Both buildings will add 783 student beds collectively.

The structure consists of cast-in-place concrete flat plate slabs and moderately ductile concrete shear walls. Post tensioning was used for long spans across the auditorium, which support the 7 storeys above. The project features a dining hall that utilizes mass timber and hybrid construction. Exposed glulam post and beams with a mix of hybrid point-supported CLT bring a biophilic aesthetic to this frequently trafficked facility. The building required a 2hr fire rating, which was achieved naturally through the concrete and through wood charring (that also serves to protect the wood and connections in a fire event). The select use of exposed mass timber made the dining hall a feature for the building and UVic campus.

A dramatic improvement from the former aging facilities, the new complex reduces the net carbon footprint by 90% while simultaneously increasing capacity by over 780 beds. This project targets LEED Gold as well as Passive House certification, which will be a first for the University.