Today marked a major milestone toward a new home for British Columbia's only art and design university. The release of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) launches the competitive selection process for a new Emily Carr University of Art + Design campus at Great Northern Way.

The RFQ is a competitive process that invites teams to indicate their interest and qualifications to design, build, finance and maintain a new campus for the university. Emily Carr University expects to shortlist up to three teams, which will then be invited to respond to a Request for Proposals (RFP).

Founded as the Vancouver School of Art in 1925, Emily Carr is the only specialized post-secondary institution in British Columbia offering programs in fine arts, media arts and design exclusively. Emily Carr is one of only four such institutions in Canada, and is consistently recognized nationally and internationally for the excellence of its faculty, students and alumni.

The new facilities for Emily Carr University will further B.C.'s reputation as a destination for world-class post-secondary education by allowing the university to enhance the education and skills training in media, design and art programs in ways that have not been possible due to site constraints of the current Granville Island campus.

Construction on the project is expected to take approximately 24 months and to be completed by summer 2016.

Emily Carr University has engaged Partnerships British Columbia Inc. (Partnerships BC) to manage the competitive selection process for the project.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be approximately $134 million.

Learn More:

Visit the project website: www.ecuad.ca/gnwcampus/

Media Contacts:

Dan Gilmore
Communications Manager
Ministry of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology
250 952-6400
Dan.gilmore@gov.bc.ca

Barry Patterson
Executive Director of Communications
Emily Carr University of Art + Design
604 844-3078
bpatterson@ecuad.ca