York U breaks ground on ‘twisted’ building
York University broke ground—virtually—on construction of a dedicated building for its School of Continuing Studies on June 25.
Physical distancing measures put in place to contain the spread of COVID-19 quashed the university’s plans for a traditional ground breaking ceremony. In lieu, the school built a dedicated ground breaking webpage for the construction project, complete with video interviews with faculty, students and members of the project design team.
"In uncertain times, the need for innovative and responsive lifelong learning is greater than ever," said York University president and vice-chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton. "This new, standalone home for our School of Continuing Studies demonstrates York's commitment to serving the current and future needs of learners and employers, here at home and around the world, as they rise to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the demands of a dynamic global knowledge economy."
The new building, which will be located at the intersection of The Pond Road and James Gillies Street on York’s Keele campus, will bring faculty, students and teaching spaces from across the university together to create a dedicated space for the school. The building itself, designed by architects Perkins&Will, was created to become a gateway to the entrance of the campus.
The 97,000-square foot facility will include 50 classrooms and space for 150 staff and instructors. In form, it was created as a conventional box, the shape of which has been rotated to give the building a particular, twisted, aesthetic appeal.
"Our students are bold, they're confident, they're ambitious. The building is an embodiment of who we are as a school," said Tracey Taylor-O'Reilly, assistant vice-president, continuing studies. "The building will be a twisted, iconic gateway site and showcase York's long commitment to providing high-quality education to non-traditional students."
Developers broke ground on the facility in March and the building is expected to open in the fall of 2021. Key features include a large arrival area at the front and sheltered drop-off and pick-up area in the rear, a high-performance prismatic façade composed of photovoltaic panels and glazed openings, anticipated LEED Gold certification, and an envelope that is designed using Passive House standards, heat recovery ventilation, and integrated photovoltaics to generate electricity on site.
“These are not conventional students, so we created a building that is just as unconventional,” says architect Safdar Abidi. “The design of the building speaks about agility, which is a testament to students’ design to adapt their learnings to respond to market demands.”
The university’s board of governors selected Perkins&Will for the facility design in early 2018 after it held an international design competition for the facility. At that time, the institution announced a project budget of more than $50 million for design and construction.
The need for a new building for the School of Continuing Studies has never been greater. In five years, the school has seen enrolment in its professional program increase by more than 1,000 percent. The new building will accommodate the school's rapidly growing student and staff population.
"Our language programs are the top programs in North America. Our professional programs are among the most innovative in Canada and among the top programs in North America," says Taylor-O'Reilly. "Our physical environment needs to be an extension of the quality of the education we're providing to our students. This building will allow us to bring innovation using the cutting-edge twisted design to create a world-class education experience in North America."