Centennial College Ashtonbee Campus Renewal

CENTENNIAL COLLEGE ASHTONBEE CAMPUS RENEWAL LIBRARY & STUDENT HUB Toronto / Ontario / Canada

CENTENNIAL COLLEGE BACKGROUND CENTENNIAL COLLEGE IS THE OLDEST, PUBLICLY FUNDED COLLEGE IN ONTARIO WITH FOUR CAMPUSES SERVING THE GREATER TORONTO AREA.

PROGRESS CAMPUS STC CAMPUS

ASHTONBEE CAMPUS

CCC CAMPUS

DOWNTOWN TORONTO

SITE RELATIONSHIP TO DOWNTOWN TORONTO

Centennial offers 120 applied degree, diploma, and certificate programs with 16,000 full-time and 22,000 part-time students. Situated near a major intersection in the Golden Mile neighbourhood of Toronto, the campus is surrounded by residential, park lands, commercial, and light industrial.

The project mandate required, in simplest terms, an enhanced identity for this campus which has been the last of the 4 major campuses to receive capital improvements. While generating successful business partnerships and a thriving training program, the campus suffered from safety concerns, accessibility issues, aging infrastructure and buildings, lack of student support services and social gathering spaces, and offered little insight into the innovative learning environments within.

The project required a crystal clear vision for the automotive training-focused campus, providing new and expanded academic spaces in both formal and informal settings, as well as communicating this newly acquired transparent and open identity to the outside world.

ASHTONBEE TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUND ASHTONBEE CAMPUS IS HOME TO THE LARGEST TRAINING SCHOOL FOR TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGY IN CANADA.

An automotive service facility was purchased in 1967 from Volkswagen Canada, and a second building - the new ‘Ashtonbee Campus Building’ was built in 1973.

This consolidated enough space to train technicians in every form of land, sea, and air transportation. Today Centennial boasts industry partnerships with most major manufacturers. Due to the high demand of these programs, the addition of nontransportation programming, and the need for larger and upgraded facilities, the Ashtonbee Campus Renewal Project was essential to the progress of the campus.

CAMPUS CONTEXT

WARDEN PARK

WARDEN AVE.

4

2

ASHTONBEE PARK

2

3

5 1 1. NEW LIBRARY & STUDENT HUB 2. NEW RECREATION & WELLNESS CENTRE 3. EXISTING ASHTONBEE BUILDING 4. EXISTING PARKING 5. EXISTING AUTOMOTIVE BUILDING SITE PLAN

ASHTONBEE RD.

5

CAMPUS RENEWAL PROJECT CONCEIVED AS A CAMPUS RENEWAL PROJECT,

GOALS & REQUIREMENTS:

THE NEW DEVELOPMENT BRINGS NEW IDENTITY AND VITALITY TO THE ORIGINAL 1970’S SITE. The campus has suffered from a shortage of support facilities for the core Transportation and Academic learning programs.

Inadequate study spaces, student leisure and fitness areas have hampered the functioning and progress of the Campus.

EXISTING CAMPUS CONDITIONS

• • • • • •

Create gateway into the campus Clear outward identity Improve both student amenities and academic spaces Address dated recreation spaces Enhance condectivity between current and future campus buildings Accommodates for future building and infrastructure developments

EXPANSION, RENO & NEW:

FUTURE CAMPUS GOALS:

RE-ALIGN SITE & ADD NEW BUILDINGS

• • • • • • • •

Align site access with new intersection Campus wide pedestrian promenade New library & student centre New recreation & wellness centre Renovation of staff & teaching spaces New landscape & parking strategy Organize internal drop-off Asbestos remediation

FUTURE CAMPUS PLAN

• • • • •

Future buildings & underground parking 93 Warden Building redeveloped as mixed education & housing Library Building to bridge further east (connecting entire campus) Pedestrian promenade to link series of green spaces / courtyards Future exiting to Warden Avenue

INTEGRATED PLANNING – THE ‘BRIDGE’ THE DESIGN OF THE NEW BUILDING AND CAMPUS ACTS AS A ‘BRIDGE’ IN BOTH FIGURATIVE AND LITERAL WAYS. GATEWAY ARRIVAL

The ‘Bridge’ is employed as a framework to solve pragmatic issues and to articulate the College’s philosophy. The College Strategic Plan identifies its principles in the ‘Book of Commitments’, these principles were used to guide the design and the enhancement of student life. These Bridging concepts formed the framework of the project planning.

VISUAL CONNECTION

CAMPUS PROMENADE

BUILDING MATERIALS THE NEW BUILDING HAS A REDUCED PALETTE OF TWO MATERIALS – STAINLESS STEEL PANELS AND CERAMIC FRITTED SSG GLAZING. The ceramic frit on glazed surfaces reduced solar heat build up, creating a unique building patern offering modulated light and views in and out of the building. The College’s name is masked out of the frit, ensuring a bold but subtle brand identification.

Stainless Steel was inspired by the sensuous chrome engines being fashioned on site. The panels have a 2” variation of tapered movement at either side. Including the flat panel, this creates five differing panels that in combination create shifting colors and light reflection. The polished mirrored effect picks up the movement of people and cars as fragmented ephemeral patterns of colour and light. This creates a bold and memorable arrival onto campus.

CLOUD GATE

HOLLAND TUNNEL

CHROME ENGINE

THE NEW LIBRARY & STUDENT HUB IS THE ‘SOCIAL HEART’ OF THE CAMPUS, TRIPLING THE EXISTING LIBRARY SIZE AND PROVIDING MUCH NEEDED STUDY SPACE

SINCE OPENING, THE BUILDING HAS BEEN LAUDED BY STUDENTS AND STAFF FOR ITS HIGH-QUALITY OF LIGHT, SPACE AND DIVERSITY OF LEARNING SPACES

GROUND LEVEL PLAN

GROUND LEVEL FLOOR PLAN

SECOND LEVEL FLOOR PLAN

SECOND LEVEL PLAN 1. Lobby / Reception 2. Student Services

5. Student Centre 6. Student Commons

9. Classroom 10. Library Admin.

1 2 3 4 5 6

LOBBY/RECEPTION STUDENT SERVICES STUDENT LIFE/CON-ED BOOKSTORE STUDENT CENTRE COMMONS

7 LIBRARY 8 OPEN TO BELOW 9 CLASSROOM 10 LIBRARY ADMIN 11 RESOURCE CENTRE 12 STUDENT BLEACHERS

MJMA (MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects) Copyright Š 2016 by MJMA All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.

For more information about this project, please contact:

Amanda Chong T: 416-593-6796 ext 245 E: achong@mjma.ca www.mjma.ca