- Culture
- Notre équipe
- Services
- Projets
- Médias
- Nos bureaux
- Rechercher
Centennial College Celebrates Mass-Timber Opening at Progress Campus
Urban Toronto | September 28, 2023
Centennial College has announced the completion of the A-Building Expansion at its Progress Campus, located at 940 Progress Avenue in Scarborough. This project, overseen by EllisDon and designed by DIALOG Architects and Smoke Architecture, is notable as Canada's first higher-education facility to be zero carbon and constructed with mass timber. The expansion adds approximately 14,000m² of both new and renovated space to the campus, which comprises 20 buildings.
Introduced in February, 2020, the $105-million project's plans for the A Block Building expansion were unveiled in May, 2020, detailing a 6-storey institutional building connecting to an existing 3-storey structure, designed to house a mix of student classrooms and administrative offices. As construction progressed, live camera feeds from the site provided regular updates on the construction progress. By March, 2023, the project was nearing completion, with landscaping and exterior finishing touches finalized by July.
Craig Applegath and Chen Cohen, Partners at DIALOG, released statements to mark the completion of the project.
Applegath's statement reads "What was refreshing about this project was Centennial College’s requirement that the design be rooted in an Indigenous notion of natural systems and the poetry of Indigenous culture. The idea of an Indigenous narrative was important for our team, and inspired key elements of the design that were contemplated through this lens. Our team also focused on exploring ecological narratives in the design of this project, especially as improving the wellbeing of our environment is central to DIALOG’s mission. We wanted students, faculty and visitors of all backgrounds to be able to walk away with a new perspective and education from this new space.”
Cohen's statement reads “We're incredibly excited to see the Centennial College A-Building Expansion become a reality. It was very important to us that this project highlights traditional First Nation Principles, while also celebrating the rich diversity of Centennial’s students and faculty. Our aim was to create inclusive, welcoming, and accessible learning and working environments that allow all individuals to thrive.”