UFV is wrapping up a project to build an inclusive main entrance to improve safety, aesthetics, and accessibility between Building A and B on the Abbotsford campus. The design of the new entranceway is rooted in equity, diversity, and inclusion — a central mission of UFV.
“The goal for the UFV front entry landscape improvement is to create a new formal entrance, welcoming all people equally and creating a place to be, instead of a place to pass through,” said Denise Brown, Associate Director of Capital Projects at UFV.
GPM Civil Contracting’s project of UFV’s main entrance makeover, which began construction August 3, is approximately valued at $1,200,000. The makeover will include multiple seating areas, LED lighting on the ramps and under handrails, new lampposts, extensive landscaping, and architectural concrete walls.
“Much of the new lighting is colour programmable as well, which will be useful in [recognizing] holidays and other special days or events,” said Brown.
The project was designed by HAPA Collaborative and constructed by GPM Civil Contracting. They aim to create “inclusive, inviting, [and] memorable” designs. Most of the construction was completed over the summer to help minimize noise disturbances. The expected finish date for this substantial project is late Fall 2021.
Mark Goudsblom, Director of Campus Planning and Facilities Management, said that after a review of the previous entrance way by the Rick Hansen Foundation, UFV made improvements to this entryway a priority to ensure the entrance is aligned with the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standard for accessible design for the built environment. Brown said that the new rampways in the entrance are “well below the 5 per cent grade required by code for proper accessibility.”
“A real prominence of the new entranceway provides a feeling of arrival,” said Goudsblom. “Standing at the base of the steps, looking up should give people, in the first 30 seconds, a feeling of belonging, homecoming, and being proud that they made this first step.”
“Note that those with accessibility challenges are not relegated to a side door or separate entrance. This inclusive design means not having to make their way into UFV alone but with their friends. This sets the tone that UFV is a place to feel safe and comfortable,” said Goudsblom.
Image: Andrea Sadowski/The Cascade
Valentina Betancourt is a third-year psychology major/political science minor who is the News Editor at The Cascade. Her dream is to become an immigration Lawyer as she immigrated from Bogota, Colombia.
