Campus Design Intention
Areas of future growth are thoughtfully distributed to weave the campus together and integrate nature into and across the campus. New academic and neighbourhood development is concentrated around mixed-use activity centres, corridors and future rapid transit stations, making the campus more livable, walkable and easier to navigate. The academic core is strengthened with new Learning Corridors along East Mall and Thunderbird Boulevard, connecting neighourhoods, Mixed-Use Hubs and student housing areas. Existing housing areas will expand to meet the needs of the UBC community while responding thoughtfully to their local context. Taller buildings will be located near each other or the forest edge, while mid-rise buildings—the predominant form of neighbourhood housing—will frame streets and large open spaces.
Points of Welcome & Historic Views
Elevated on the Point Grey peninsula, UBC enjoys spectacular views of the coastal mountains and the Salish Sea. These views are particularly important for connecting the community with the surrounding natural setting, and for Musqueam use of land and places of cultural value. UBC will work with Musqueam and Metro Vancouver to explore enhancing and restoring these cherished views from Main Mall, University Boulevard, East Mall and West Mall.
The view at the north end of Main Mall is culturally significant to Musqueam and will be enhanced by a reimagined landscape that replaces parts of the formal lawns with a more naturalized landscape using indigenous plants and design elements. There is the potential to extend this space via a land-bridge that spans Northwest Marine Drive.
A memorable and welcoming arrival experience to campus will be strengthened at key gateways. Working with Musqueam Indian Band and other partners, gateways will be unique to each context, and express the cultural values of Musqueam through a combination of distinctive architecture, indigenous landscapes and features, public art, street design and lighting.
Campus Design Elements
Courtayard & Open Spaces
Open space shapes and organizes neighbourhoods, providing places for people to gather and socialize, relax and recreate, and engage with nature. In urban communities, public space should be accessible to all and convenient to use. The Vision anticipates a variety of open space throughout the campus, each with a different character and role, use and size.
Details - Courtyards & Open Spaces
- Courtyards will help build a strong community through a variety of outdoor spaces that are separate from, but connected to, the more public facing streets and public spaces
- Large, centralized open spaces and commons will accommodate outdoor learning, larger events and green infrastructure systems, and support increased biodiversity, habitat and access to nature
- Dispersed local parks, plazas and public spaces will provide more immediate and direct places for social connections
Streets for People
Streets will serve as additional public spaces while supporting the functional needs of moving people and goods. Streets will be scaled to their intended roles, uses, and functions—some will be narrower and focused on comfortable walking and rolling, while others will include bicycle lanes and surface transit.
Details - Streets as Places for People
In new neighbourhoods, streets will be designed to connect to public spaces, allow for easy access to larger parks and open space, and create variation and visual interest along their length. Streets will be framed by buildings that relate to their width and use, and include edges that engage with and bring vibrancy to the street. Residential buildings will include front doors and patios that bring 'life' to the street. In commercial areas, shops will have windows and exteriors that make interior activities visible and include places for people to sit and socialize outside.
Streets will be designed as convenient, safe, safe and comfortable places for people to travel along and as social spaces where people can gather.
Buildings That Contribute
Both new and existing academic and neighbourhood buildings will help create a rich environment for people. While new buildings will showcase innovative design and contribute to a coherent campus experience, retention and rehabilitation of valued historic buildings, landscapes, and places can nurture an understanding of the relationships between place and time in the life of the campus.
Details - Locating Towers
Towers will be located discreetly and where they can best respond to their immediate context. In Acadia, towers will be integrated with lower courtyard buildings and set back from major open spaces so they are less visually prominent. In Stadium Neighbourhood, they will be integrated with lower podium buildings so the pedestrian scale remains the most prominent. In Wesbrook Neighbourhood, towers will be situated adjacent to Pacific Spirit Regional Park and the forest, where the taller buildings match the scale of the forested edge. Towers here may be built on podiums or free-standing to reflect the character of taller buildings already found in the neighbourhood.
Campus Character Areas
The character of the academic campus will celebrate and showcase UBC as a place of learning, innovation and the exchange of ideas. The student housing areas on campus will foster safe and comfortable homes for students and include the services and amenities to make student life successful. The character of new neighbourhoods will foster social interaction and community connections.
Campus Character - Academic Areas
Building locations and forms will reinforce outdoor spaces as places for people, with building entries and ground floor spaces designed to invite interaction and display the culture and learning activities inside.
A network of smaller open spaces will enable outdoor learning and experiential education and will be supported with infrastructure such as covered seating, lighting, electrical power and charging stations. Courtyards and pedestrian pathways between buildings will be extended to provide informal “backyards”—spaces for discovery, experimentation, innovation and local expression.
Mid-rise buildings (predominantly four to eight storeys) will reinforce the pedestrian scale and character of primary, ceremonial routes such as Main Mall and University Boulevard. Taller buildings (up to 22 storeys) will define population and activity centres at Learning Hubs and research partnership sites and provide social anchors for safe nighttime activity and movement while creating opportunities for open space. Heights along the western edge of campus will reflect the scale of the adjacent forest and avoid excessive view impacts on Wreck Beach.
Campus Character - Student Housing Areas
New student housing will continue to be located close to the campus core, and intensify and enliven existing student housing areas along the western parts of the campus to create distinct but connected communities.
New student housing will be comprised of a combination of mid-rise buildings (up to eight storeys) and towers (up to 22 storeys) in Mixed-Use Hubs. Heights along the western edge of campus will reflect the forest character and avoid excessive view impacts on Wreck Beach.
New family-oriented student housing, including replacement of some student family housing units within the Acadia area, will be provided through shorter, smaller scale buildings compared to other student housing on campus, incorporating safe places for children and families. Housing will be designed with large and flexible semi-private green space within courtyards with units overlooking and facing these spaces to create a community feel and reinforce safety and security. These courtyards will be designed with a combination of spaces for play, community gardens, natural areas and social gathering spaces for families. Student family housing will be located adjacent to the future Acadia Neighbourhood and leləm̓ community and provide easy access to services and amenities like child care, grocery, community facilities and Norma Rose Point School.
Mixed-Use Hubs are focused places for student housing, amenities, services and academic uses. They are dispersed throughout the campus core and are characterized by taller student housing buildings, animated ground floors, food services that are integrated with student study spaces, and accessible green space that allows for active and passive outdoor uses.
New Mixed-Use Hubs will co-locate key community features to ensure the day-to-day needs of students are met. Unique food services, lounge facilities, collegia and academic support will make the hubs core to student health and wellbeing, and provide a vibrant campus life experience.
Campus Character - Neighbourhood Areas
Residential buildings will feature front doors, semi-private porches and stoops that present a friendly face to the street. Interior courtyards will provide more intimate spaces that function as outdoor rooms, framed by the buildings around them, and provide visible connections to surrounding streets and open spaces. Each outdoor space will be designed and programmed to suit the unique needs of the residents it serves, include community gardens, outdoor cooking and dining areas, covered seating and lounging areas and areas for play.
A range of housing types will support community and social diversity, between students, faculty, residents and staff of all ages. Building locations and heights will seek to maximize access to sunlight and outdoor human comfort throughout the year. Mid-rise buildings will frame narrow local streets lined with trees to provide summer shade and cooling, while allowing sun in the winter months. Towers will be set back from and frame wider streets and open spaces.