Location
  • Toronto, ON
Client
  • Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology
Completion
2011
Size
  • 13,006 sq m
  • 140,000 sq ft
Sustainability
  • LEED® Gold certified
Collaborators
  • BA Consulting Group Ltd.
  • EllisDon
  • Isotherm Engineering Ltd.
  • Jensen Hughes Inc.
  • Morrison Hershfield Ltd.
  • QUINN Design Associates Inc.
  • R.V. Anderson Associates Ltd.
  • Shikatani Lacroix Design Inc.
DIALOG Services
  • Architecture
  • Interior Design
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Planning & Urban Design
  • Structural Engineering
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Seneca College is Ontario’s largest college, with approximately 20,000 full-time students and 70,000 part time students enrolled in four campuses in the greater Toronto area. The four-storey facility is a living lab with exposed systems, flexible for future adaptations, and providing a welcoming atmosphere for student learning and interaction. An engaging gateway to the campus, Building A provides an additional 1,000 student seats and includes classrooms, computer labs, common areas, circulation, and an information commons. The building was completed on time and on budget via a two-year fast-track construction schedule as a part of the federal government's Knowledge Infrastructure Program.

01/10
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Form Brutalist concrete from the existing campus buildings is echoed in the massing design of the concrete stairwells. 
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Welcome centre Building A is the Campus's main building and the welcome hub for students and visitors.
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Minkler Atrium The atrium is the primary circulation point of Building A while also aligning to the major circulation axes on campus.
seneca college newnham campus building a computing commons
Computing commons Students and employees have access to an open area where computers are available for use.
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Study commons A large sky-lit area contains both high and low communal tables, as well as lounge seating with moveable screens.
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Study commons Students are encouraged to occupy the hallways of the building, contributing to more social connectivity.
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Adaptability The furniture selection allows for flexibility as well as instant regrouping and reconfiguration, facilitating multiple teaching styles.
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Lighting the way Corridors encircle the outside of the building, letting natural light flood common areas and making for a friendly exchange as well as quiet study.
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Glazing The building has an impressive glazing ratio that not only provides daylight to the interior spaces but also increases the building’s overall energy efficiency.
seneca college newnham campus building a exsterior 02
New materials Zinc panels, a new material at the campus, mark the boundaries of the building.

Meet The Team

See more team members
The creation of the new building has provided Seneca’s Newnham campus with an identity it historically lacked.
Craig Applegath
seneca-college-newnham-campus-building-a-study-commons-study-commons-sketch-02-v2

It All Started With A Sketch

seneca-college-newnham-campus-building-a-study-site-plan

Design Considerations 01

Connectivity

The site was challenged with reinventing a neglected interstitial courtyard space that functioned primarily as an exit path for a number of existing buildings.

seneca college newnham campus building a elevation

Design Considerations 02

Access to daylight

Rooftop clerestories above the atria create a strong connection to the outdoors and fill the spaces with natural light, which minimizes the need for electrical lighting and reduces energy consumption.

A+

This federally-funded, fast-track project was our Toronto studio’s first venture leveraging our entire multi-disciplinary team: architecture, interior design, structural-mechanical-electrical engineering, and sustainability, to create a space for an additional 1,000 students at Seneca College’s Newnham campus.

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