| ACADEMIC
VILLAGE
The concept creates an internalized academic village which
responds to the Canadian climate. The south-east entrance
occurs where the two wings meet and is articulated as a transparent
gateway that draws students into the heart of the space,
the Town Square. The Town Square
creates a focal point for gathering and events and is connected
to the resource center and café.
A large wood volume containing
a lecture hall fills the Square, and provides a single point
of reference for orientation in the building. It is suspended
above a broad flight of ‘Spanish
Steps’ which embody the sloped topography within
the interior architecture. The Spanish Steps are also fully
wired for laptops and provide formal assembly space for events
and graduation ceremonies.
In each wing, light-filled interior streets run along both
sides of central atria and provide generous circulation spaces
culminating in lounges and views to the exterior. The emphasis
on transparency allows the light, color and weather of changing
seasons to be drawn into the interiors.
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