Project enters period of rapid visible progress
Anyone walking by the student housing and dining hall construction site lately is likely noticing some rapid progress. All 10 floors of the stairs and elevator shaft have now been constructed, showcasing the final building profile to passersby minus the roof. The flooring panels have now been installed up to the seventh floor.
If you’re lucky, you have been able to watch some of the flooring and wall panels go in. Both are pre-assembled at the factory in Surrey, where they can be pre-tested to ensure they are airtight, guaranteeing the energy efficiency of each panel. Pre-assembling the panels not only provides more control over the building’s final sustainability rating. It also saves time as the panels are craned into position and secured into place much quicker than if they were constructed on-site. There is less construction waste at the end of the day as well.
The floor panels are cross-laminated timber (CLTs), made from layers of lumber glued at right angles, a newer product that offers high strength, stability and sustainability. To make these products, VIU bought 10% of a forest near Kelowna, supporting not only the BC construction industry but also the forestry industry. The floor also serves as the ceiling of the floor below, again conserving resources and speeding up the construction process.
Watch in the new few months as the exterior walls are set in place and the roof is constructed.
January 2026 student housing and dining hall tower
It's an exciting phase of development, where walls and floors go up every week on the new student housing and dining hall tower construction site! Night photo courtesy of Terry Janzen.
