Design of new Emily Carr University campus unveiled as construction begins at False Creek Flats

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      Emily Carr University of Art and Design has officially announced the start of construction on its new campus and painted a picture of what it will look like.

      Government and university officials symbolically broke ground this morning (April 24) to mark the beginning of the construction of the new campus, which will be located on Great Northern Way, in the False Creek Flats.

      “This is an incredible milestone for Emily Carr, the province and the city of Vancouver,” said Jake Kerr, the university’s chancellor, during a press conference.

      Images unveiled at the press conference show the exterior and interior of the university’s new campus, which includes open areas to foster creative collaboration between students and faculty.

      The new campus will accommodate 1,800 students, and is designed to achieve the LEED Gold Certification for sustainable construction.

      The project will cost $122.65 million and is due to be completed by March 2017. Students should be able to use the new facilities by May of that year.

      B.C. Gov Photos

      The provincial government is one of the project’s biggest contributors, investing $101.65 million in the construction of the new campus.

      “We know that there is no better example of how to lead ourselves into the future than to be fully invested in the field of design,” said Andrew Wilkinson, B.C.’s minister for advanced education.

      Karim Kadi, a third-year communications design student at Emily Carr, celebrated the university’s move. Although he won’t be able to enjoy the new campus as a student, he believes that it will provide the space and technology that students were lacking at the old campus.

      “The facility is going to be more up-to-date, and it’s really going to push technology,” Kadi told the Straight. “It will be great to have those new means to work with.”

      B.C. Gov Photos

      Along with giving Emily Carr University a new home, officials hope that the new campus will help invigorate the area around False Creek Flats, making it a hub for creativity and design.

      “This is not only about Emily Carr, and it’s not only about post-secondary education. It’s about city building, province building, and country building,” said Ron Burnett, the university’s president.

      Burnett believes that bringing Emily Carr University to East Vancouver will have a profound impact on the city's future.

      “It is about a vision that looks at the city, east and west, and begins to integrate it,” Burnett added.

      B.C. Gov Photos

      The university’s old campus was located on Granville Island. It’s still unclear what will happen with the old buildings once the university moves out in 2017.

      Peter Mothe is a practicum student at the Georgia Straight and a graduate student at UBC's school of journalism. You can follow him on Twitter.

      Comments

      4 Comments

      David Cran

      Apr 24, 2015 at 3:24pm

      I am curious as to why we need to expand the school when so few graduates ever find work in design. Seems like another diploma mill now.

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      Blahhhhhh

      Apr 24, 2015 at 7:37pm

      Dear architects & design committe,

      1) Beige!? Seriously? Urgh. It literally couldn't be any more boring or safe. Looks like a gov't health facility.
      2) Buildings, don't GLOW! Just stop it with your ridiculous renders. They're delusional. Why not spend more time designing habitable street-level environments than on video game-inspired renders?
      3) Your cold, barren, feature-less cement "plaza" will never be that lively. Geez. Have a look around, no one hangs on in the middle of giant cement slabs. Here's a start: seating.
      4) Weather-protection, ever heard of it?

      I'd give you minor props for the "unconventional" (for Vancouver) roof-line but all of the above undo it.

      Is it too much to ask for engaging, mildly interesting architecture that enhances it's surroundings, let alone visionary architecture?

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      Meatballs

      Apr 24, 2015 at 8:42pm

      I think it's great Emily Carr is getting a new, cutting edge facility. But the hubris around what it all means is just platitudes for the touchy-feely set. As for the design of the building itself? Meh.....

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      Not Convinced

      Apr 25, 2015 at 2:39pm

      The new site is terrible compared to GI. Not even close. That part of the flats is barren and hard to get to and the only thing it has going for it is that so many other art-related businesses and schools have been forced to move there due to high rents elsewhere - such as Monty Clark Gallery. The whole project is relying on the subway along Broadway as this site would be a major station before the line would go underground. Without the line it will be a very dull place.