BCIT Goard Way + Public Realm Improvements

Burnaby, British Columbia | 2013-2016

To complete the first major public realm improvement on the BCIT Burnaby Campus in over fifty years, we transformed a central spine of the campus, turning it from a roadway with aging building infrastructure and a shortage of gathering space for students to congregate, into a place that invites students in. A wide walkway that references a measuring tape—a metaphor for the school’s trade-oriented curriculum—allows students to connect between classes, and benches and a seat wall area create outdoor meeting spaces.                                                                     

We created a rain garden as the site’s focal point. The system redirects polluted water and treats it, so water comes out clean and cool to support the fish habitat of neighbouring Guichon Creek.