The new vertical campus planned by UBC Okanagan for downtown Kelowna will include eight simulated hospital wards to train nursing students.
Another detail of the previously announced project, released Wednesday, is that the 44-storey tall building will have a public art gallery.
“This will be a bustling and vibrant hub of activity,” UBCO principal Lesley Cormack said of the overall project in a release.
Construction is expected to start this fall, at 550 Doyle Ave., the university says. It will be the tallest building in Kelowna.
The tower includes eight stores of academic space, topped by 36 stores of residential rental units with more than 500 dedicated specifically for students, faculty, and staff.
Design of the tower, which appears gold and glistening in artist drawings, is said to have been inspired by the Okanagan’s semi-arid mountain landscape, Okanagan Lake, and boat sails.
“We’ve worked hard to embrace designs that are shaped by the colours, textures, and intersections that exist in Kelowna,” said Phil Barker, vice-principal of UBCO.
