Jensen Chernoff Thompson Architects to design academic building for Royal Roads University
For immediate release – July 4, 2008
Victoria, B.C. – Royal Roads University has selected Jensen Chernoff Thompson Architects (JCTA) to provide architectural and design services for its Learning and Innovation Centre to be constructed in 2010.
The Victoria-based firm was selected from among 30 Canadian firms and consortia that responded to the initial call for expressions of interest in the project.
“In a field of high-calibre proponents, Jenson Chernoff Thompson was able to demonstrate they have the experience and expertise to meet the university’s needs for this project,” said Dan Tulip, vice-president and chief financial officer at Royal Roads University. “They have extensive university design and construction experience as well as a strong background in sustainable design. What’s more, all members of the JCTA project team have done prior work on the RRU campus.”
The academic building will be the first to be constructed on the Royal Roads campus since the university was founded in 1995 to provide applied degrees for working professionals. Currently, the university offers programs to 3,000 Canadian-based learners in facilities originally built for 300 military cadets.
“A highly efficient delivery model can only take us so far,” said RRU president Allan Cahoon. “This new building will allow us to take our next big step in academic development, which entails growth in both the number of students and the number of programs we offer.”
Royal Roads University has experienced an increase in the number of new students of close to 10 per cent in each of the past two years, making the university one of the few post-secondary institutions in the province to exceed ministry enrolment targets.
The Learning and Innovation Centre will provide contemporary educational technology and learning facilities in a 4,600-square-meter building that is expected to be two or three-storeys high. It will be built behind the Grant Building and will meet the gold standard of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.
The project is now entering into the schematic design phase which will continue through the fall. Construction is expected to start in the spring of 2009.
The total estimated project cost is $23.6 million. The Government of B.C. announced $15 million for the building in February. The remainder of the funds will come from internal financing and fundraising initiatives.
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For media queries, contact:
Communications Officer, Phil Saunders
phil.saunders@royalroads.ca (250) 391-2526, cel (250) 812-5065 or,
Community Relations Director, Stephanie Slater
stephanie.slater@royalroads.ca (250) 391-2712, cel (250) 361-5020
www.royalroads.ca
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