Campus Design Standards

UCalgary’s campus design standards help generate an inviting and inspirational community. These standards apply to all new construction, renovation, renewal, and maintenance projects at the university, and they reflect the valued expertise of our team. 

In developing these standards, the following guiding principles have been identified for all planning, design and construction projects:

• Safety and security
• Accessibility
• Sustainability and environment
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Total cost of ownership

The campus design standards have been developed for architects, designers and consultants.

Please note that the use and inclusion of these standards in bid documents does not relieve the consultant or architect of the responsibility and legal liability for any bid documents created from these standards.

If there are creative and innovative solutions, systems or approaches that are not found in the standards, our team is happy to consider them. In these cases, a written proposal outlining the benefits, limitations, and total cost of ownership of the proposed solution must be submitted to Facilities for formal approval by the appropriate technical authority within the university.

We review and revise these standards on an ongoing basis. When changes are made, the version number and issue date will be updated in the standards document. At the start of each project, prime consultants shall acknowledge the current version of the university design standards in use.

Staff and external architects and consultants are encouraged to put forward proposed revisions for consideration at any time. Please submit proposals and comments to: dsfeedback@ucalgary.ca.