KPU Student Housing

Project Features

• Eight-storey building with single- and double-occupancy rooms and four-bedroom apartment-style units.
• Multi-faith room, student lounges, and study rooms.
• 161-seat adjacent dining hall, providing access to food services seven days a week.
• All electric building, advancing KPU's commitment to carbon neutrality.
• Targeting LEED Gold Certification and Zero Carbon Building Design, achieving exceptional performance in energy efficiency, water conservation, sustainable building material use, and innovative design.
• Targeting Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification Gold, going beyond building code requirements to achieve meaningful access for all.

Design Rationale

The proposed Student Housing development at KPU’s Surrey campus, located on the unceded territories of the territories of the Kwantlen, Musqueam, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen, Qayqayt and Kwikwetlem peoples, addresses the urgent need for purpose-built student housing in Surrey, where none currently exists. The project supports KPU’s commitment to providing safe, secure, inclusive, and affordable housing while fostering a vibrant 24/7 living-learning community, rooted in inclusivity, accessibility, and wellness.

Aligned with KPU’s Vision 2026 and the 2050 Official Campus Plan, the project prioritizes access for Indigenous students, historically marginalized groups, students with disabilities, lower-income students, and those facing precarious housing situations. 

The 8-storey building will accommodate approximately 358 students and it is strategically located at the south-east corner of campus. The inclusion of an on-site dining hall with approximately 160 seats, will provide higher levels of dining service and greater safety and accessibility for student residents, who would otherwise have to walk to the center of campus to access a second-floor dining facility. The building’s orientation and massing, fronting a new east–west street, will help create an eastern campus gateway, and will integrate with existing and future campus development. All building façades are carefully designed due to high visibility from the campus and surrounding community.

The ground floor is conceived as a welcoming pavilion with transparent façades and strong indoor–outdoor connections that encourage social exchange and community life. Shared amenities, including student lounge, a multi-faith room, and student support offices, are distributed on the ground floor to foster daily interaction and collective stewardship of the building. Upper residential floors follow a compact floorplan with daylit corridors, study spaces, social lounges, and visible stairways that encourage movement, reduce energy use, and strengthen social connection.

Landscape design features native planting, courtyards with both shade and solar access, accessible pedestrian routes, and outdoor gathering areas that strengthen social interaction and environmental resilience. Sustainable building strategies, including optimized solar orientation and high-performance envelopes, support long-term durability and reduced energy use.

Through inclusive design, Indigenous engagement, and a strong connection between indoor and outdoor spaces, the project will add vibrancy to the KPU Surrey campus and help foster a welcoming, affordable, and resilient student housing community.