University of Victoria’s New Student Housing & Dining Hall

A Sustainable Goal for the Next Generation

The University of Victoria’s student residence facility, Cheko’nien House, is the largest project in UVic’s five-year Capital Plan. The building is a LEED V4 Gold-Certified project featuring passive house environmental standards and is in alignment with UVic’s commitment to climate action and sustainability. The project consists of two multi-storey buildings with indoor and outdoor spaces serving students’ campus life. Building one consists of eight storeys and is dedicated to housing, dining, and catering areas while building two is designed to encourage and host social gatherings and community events. Showcasing wood as one of the key components, a mass timber podium wraps around the exterior of the south wing of Building one to create the contrast of concrete against exposed cross-laminated timber panels and glulam beams on levels one and two. With its welcoming interior featuring exposed mass timber, this sustainably designed student housing and dining project elevates campus life and student engagement.

A Collaborative Approach

While the two-building, 320,000 square foot development is predominantly cast-in-place concrete, Kalesnikoff was selected to provide the fabrication and installation support of a large, exposed mass timber dining hall. True to our team’s collaborative and supportive processes, we worked closely with the engineers and architects throughout the pre-construction phase to accommodate updates to the mechanical and structural drawings. Kalesnikoff also modified the design of the cross-laminated panels from Spruce to Douglas Fir to match the Glulam (GLT) beams for a seamless finish throughout the structure.

Honouring People and Place

“UVic is honoured that Songhees and Esquimalt Nations have given us permission to use the names Čeqʷəŋín ʔéʔləŋ (Cheko’nien House) & Sŋéqə ʔéʔləŋ (Sngequ House). The names are a way to bring to life the language and the history of the People and land on which these buildings sit. An important aspect of UVic’s Indigenization efforts is the new Indigenous student lounge in Sŋéqə ʔéʔləŋ The lounge is open to all Indigenous students, offering culturally responsive programming, support and drop in hours with supportive staff and Elders.” Source: https://www.uvic.ca/news/student-life/2023+new-residence-complex+news