The new hub was designed to give more diversity and depth to the overall on campus student experience by putting students at the core of the design process. The result is a uniquely designed 70,000 sq ft campus hub building that houses athletics, food services, and recreation spaces, and features out of the box thinking; a brightly coloured, multilevel floating running track which encircles the building, and which is visible from both the interior and exterior. This running track was designed to create open access, and both visually and physically connects to nearby basketball, yoga and fitness studios.
A glass clad exterior, which provides diffused natural light and offers students engaging views to the rest of their campus and the surrounding city core, encourages students to spend more time on campus. The glass exterior is specifically designed to prevent solar glare, while bringing more natural lighting into the building for optimal health and wellness purposes.
A series of modern lounge and study spaces, fun and functional games areas, and top of the line fitness facilities, club rooms, and cafes, all feed into and off of a generous and highly transparent double height atrium.
In order to create facilities that were designed to give more diversity and depth to the student experience, and deliver programming that was student-first, Montgomery Sisam worked directly with Sheridan College’s current students.
We encouraged the students to think big about what they wanted to see in this future building. Once we saw repetition in terms of the wants, we really narrowed the design concepts and programming down to the creative needs, the students really contributed to and gave us the inspiration for the programming you see in our design.
In designing the social and wellness centre, maximising connections was key. Connections between large open spaces were created, with multipurpose spaces and smaller, more defined programme spaces. Both indoor amenities and outdoor amenities were established with new building features and existing campus features incorporated to create an accessible and animated facility that inspires synergies and supports a strong and prosperous academic community.
The double height, ground floor atrium is designed for optimal flexibility; it offers modest, inviting pockets suited to multiple smaller functions occurring simultaneously and on an everyday basis with the capacity to accommodate large student gatherings and events as required.
The second level looks down into the atrium, maintaining an important visual connection with the more animated first floor, while offering quieter work spaces, study areas, lounge spaces, student committee offices, and a multifaith centre. Specialty sport facilities, athletic studios, lockers and changing rooms are located on the third level together with a double height gym space and elevated running track. The upper level houses office space, a vestibule and a purpose built senate room for the college. A coherent and high graphic standard permeates the building with bespoke materials, finishes and features.
Phase two A joins directly with phase two, sharing a portico at grade and two upper level connections. A simple, clean massing both conveys the rhythm of phase two and distinguishes it from its neighbours. The centre is also accessible via a main arterial, Rathburn Road, to the north and the future Scholar’s Green park expansion to the south. Open and covered walkways, a patio and outdoor turf field complement the graphic, angular design of the quad and offer occasion for social activities inside the building to spill out into the campus.