New building program will ease space crunch

It's no secret to students filing into crowded classrooms, researchers seeking out lab space and staff creating offices wherever they can that UVic is facing a serious space shortfall. With enrolment increasing by another 1,900 full-time students by 2010, campus administrators are planning several new buildings to address the need for more teaching, research and administrative space.

As part of "Building the Future," UVic has approached the provincial government to approve funding for a new science building, an expansion of the McPherson library, and a new classroom/faculty building.

Other projects also in the planning stages include a support services building that will free up space within Ring Road and the First Peoples House to create a welcoming and supportive environment for UVic First Nations students that respects their culture and values.

"The upcoming new construction gives us an opportunity to take a co-ordinated approach to the next phase of UVic's development," says Jack Falk, vice president finance and operations. "Planning the construction, selecting sites and choosing building methods and materials will reflect the implementation process and growth management principles laid out in UVic's campus plan."

The university's current inventory of space is more than 17,000 net assignable square metres (NASM) less than the amount suggested by the Ministry of Advanced Education's B.C. space standards—the equivalent of the space inside both the library and the Human and Social Development Building. Without additional facilities, and with the addition of 1,900 FTEs, the space shortfall would grow to more than 29,000 NASM.

The building program will also reflect the university's commitment to transportation demand management and avoid increasing the land footprint for parking by redistributing parking space. Since the two potential sites for the classroom/faculty building identified by the facilities development and sustainability sub-committee are parking lots D and E, this could involve building a parkade.

A stakeholder consultation session on Feb. 8 at 12:30 to 1:20 p.m.(with a presentation at 12:45 p.m.) in MacLaurin D116 will offer information about the building, the rationale behind the site selection and possible responses to the loss of parking areas.
See next month's Ring for more details on projects planned for "Building the Future."