WATCH: Indigenous elements influence this student housing project

Designs for a student housing project at Okanagan College includes Indigenous influence and a unique radial multi-use space.

Documents submitted to city hall show a 182-unit building located along KLO and West Campus Road.

According to design plans, the six-floor facility will have 162 micro-suites, six micro-accessible units, four double units, and 10 quad units.

The project’s design team met with representatives from Westbank First Nation to work on incorporating Indigenous elements. For example, the lobby will have designated space for Indigenous art, as well as on the metal sunshades. Plans are in place to build an outdoor talking circle.

The shared multi-use club and play room space will have a radial design in response to the prominence the circle has in Indigenous gatherings.

“When the operable partition is folded away, the space can accommodate a range of gathering and ceremonial activities that can foster mentorship, connection and healing,” the documents read.

Beyond that shared space, each floor will have its own multi-purpose room.

The application still needs to be circulated around city hall before coming before lawmakers for consideration.