Design officially underway

This month marked an exciting milestone: the project officially moved into the design phase!

To begin, the team came together for a collaborative working session in Prince George known as a ‘Big Room.’ More than 50 people from various disciplines participated, including engineers, architects, designers, and clinical planning specialists. The session brought everyone together in one shared space to shape the project as a team from the very start.

Working together in the Big Room
The Big Room approach is all about collaboration and momentum. Instead of working separately, the full team meets to explore ideas, identify key questions, and make informed decisions together.

Questions that could not be answered immediately were captured and assigned to the right people. Team members then connected with partners, specialists, and interested parties outside the room to find those answers. Everyone then returns to the next Big Room session with clear information, so decisions can be made, and design work can keep moving forward.

This process helps reduce delays, strengthen partnerships, and ensures the design reflects a wide range of expertise and perspectives.

Design discussions in progress during the Big Room session, with teams working side by side.

Designing around real clinical experience
Clinical design is developing hand in hand with building design. As part of the kickoff for clinical and support services design, the project’s Clinical Design Leads spent three days completing “day‑in‑the‑life” tours across more than 20 departments at the University Hospital of Northern BC (UHNBC). By building relationships with staff within their care environments, the team will be able to gain a deeper understanding of daily workflows, patient and family experiences, and how spaces are truly used.

These insights will directly inform building design decisions, helping ensure future spaces are functional and efficient for our health care teams.

Clinical Design Leads visiting staff to better understand daily workflows and care environments.Looking ahead

With design now underway, the project will continue to be shaped through collaboration. The Big Room model and close integration of clinical and building design ensure decisions are grounded in both technical expertise and lived experience.

We look forward to sharing more updates as the design progresses and the vision takes shape.