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Nov. 9 - Nov. 16, 2003 |
Reaching For The Very Top
New concrete and glass complex by two Toronto architectural firms opens at York University
By Mark Curtis
Originally Published: 2003-10-19
Toronto's universities have begun the century with aggressive building campaigns and the latest post-secondary architectural gem is the new Schulich School of Business at York University. The new school will open officially next Friday.
A joint design venture between Toronto firms Hariri Pontarini Architects and Robbie/Young + Wright Architects, the new complex at York's main Keele and Steeles campus includes four buildings: the business school, the 13-storey Executive Learning Centre, the three-storey Student Services Centre and a five level above and below ground 1,400 car parking garage. Construction cost for the new facilities was $140 million.
Befitting this era of environmental sensitivity, the newly constructed York complex features green building elements. The Student Services Centre and the Executive Learning Centre were built with fly ash concrete (a material more typically discarded) and energy efficient glass and R 20 insulation are used on the site. An Alvar Siza-like emphasis on natural light in lecture, study and office areas should help to reduce energy costs. The business school is clad with Algonquin limestone (an abundant source) and copper details - used to such good effect in Hariri Pontarini's acclaimed McKinsey & Company building in downtown Toronto - are once again present in the architects' design.
The new Schulich School of Business is a significant move for the university, which wants to consolidate the school's international reputation. Forbes magazine recently ranked Schulich as Canada's top business school and listed it as sixth best among MBA programs outside the United States.
The business school complex features three courtyards including a large amphitheatre-like space. On the school's north wing, the design's modern composition is enhanced by a steel arbour on the courtyard side and an indoor/outdoor colonnade fronting on the main campus thoroughfare of York Boulevard. Much of the glass cladding for the complex is a distinctive mix of clear, sand-blasted spandrel panels.
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