Integrating housing delivery with social connection and ecological resilience
Gehl was engaged to develop a vision and comprehensive Development Plan for the Lower Mall Precinct – a new student housing community for First Year, Upper Year, and Graduate students – rooted in the unique context between the greater campus and the forest edge. The project encompasses the Place Vanier and St. John’s College sites and seeks to establish a distinctive identity and strong sense of place while maximizing the number of student beds. Responding to urgent housing demand, the plan replaces existing buildings to improve seismic performance, increases bed capacity to meet projected needs, and delivers a high-quality living environment that balances density with liveability.
The framework integrates the forest edge as a defining element of the precinct, strengthening ecological connectivity and setting the stage for campus-wide biodiversity improvements. Building placement and open space design are carefully coordinated to create comfortable microclimates, legible movement networks, and vibrant public spaces that support daily student life. The plan anticipates future campus growth and improved public transportation connections, ensuring that development today supports long-term resilience while contributing to alleviating the housing shortage and broader affordability challenges across the region.
As Urban Designer, Gehl led the overall vision, public realm strategy, and spatial framework in close collaboration with Ryder Architecture as student housing experts. Together, the team balanced building efficiency with ideal community sizes and meaningful amenity provision, demonstrating how thoughtful urban design and high-performing student housing can work hand in hand to create a connected, future-ready campus community.
Announced in August 2024 as a partnership between UBC and the Province of BC, Phase 1 of the Lower Mall Precinct will redevelop St. John’s College to deliver approximately 1,500 graduate student beds. Designed by Ryder Architecture and 3XN with Hapa Collaborative as landscape architects, the project includes a dining hall, childcare, community amenities, and ample open space – following the Lower Mall Precinct Development Plan. Gehl continued in an advisory role through Schematic and Detailed Design to ensure the project vision carried through to construction. Future phases will explore additional student housing across the precinct in the current Place Vanier site, and aim to deliver up to 2800 student beds.
