McEwen School of Architecture

The McEwen School of Architecture (French: l'École d'architecture McEwen), formerly the Laurentian School of Architecture, is an architecture school belonging to Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.[1] The school opened in September 2013, and was the first new school of architecture to open in Canada in 45 years. It is also the first school of its kind in Northern Ontario, and the first in Canada outside Quebec to offer courses in French.

McEwen School of Architecture

Former name	Laurentian School of Architecture
Type	Architecture school
Established	September 2013 (2013-09)
Parent institution	Laurentian University
Location	Greater Sudbury , Ontario , Canada 46.49263°N 80.99705°W / 46.49263; -80.99705
Website	laurentianarchitecture.ca

The school adopted its current name in 2016 following a $10 million donation from former Goldcorp CEO Rob McEwen.[2]

Background

The school is part of Laurentian University, and was granted authorization by the provincial Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities in 2011,[1] with the province committing $21 million toward its creation.[3] The architecture project, which began as a community initiative in mid-2007, gained initial community support from the City of Greater Sudbury ($10 million) and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund ($5 million). Federal support from FedNor was also requested ($5 million).

The school announced the selection of its founding director, Dr. Terrance Galvin, MRAIC, in January 2012. Galvin was previously the director of the architecture school at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.[4] In September and October 2012 interviews were to take place to fill the school's 24 faculty positions.[5]

The school accepted its first students in September 2013.[6] It was the first new school of architecture to open in Canada in over 40 years.[1] It is the first Canadian school of architecture to offer a design studio curriculum in both English and French, as well as a cultural learning environment for the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities.[3]

Campus location

The school faced some initial controversy when it announced its preferred campus location in Downtown Sudbury, which would displace the city's existing farmer's market.[7] Both the city and the school have proposed alternate locations such as the local watering hole Peddlers Pub to resolve the relocation as the school will occupy the former Market Square, including the CP Telegraph Building (1914) for faculty offices and the CP Rail Shed (circa 1905) as its design studio and classroom for the first two years. The city voted on November 9, 2011, to accept the school's request to purchase the site,[8] and struck an advisory panel to make recommendations on the relocation and development of the farmer's market.[9] The panel ultimately decided to relocate the farmer's market to the Sudbury railway station.[10] In a new chapter in Sudbury's history marking downtown revitalization, the School of Architecture site incorporated, rather than demolishing, the former market building as well as the neighbouring CP Telegraph Building, which has a heritage designation and which housed offices and a restaurant.[11]

In a presentation to Greater Sudbury City Council in April 2012, Galvin announced that the current site plan design by LGA Architectural Partners involves four distinct buildings — the two existing buildings and two new structures, arranged around a central courtyard, with above-ground walkways connecting the buildings to allow pedestrian and bicycle traffic through the site.[12] The landscape plan and the building performance matrix are aimed at referencing the boreal forest while addressing ecology and the impact of climate change in architecture.

The $27 million project included adaptive reuse of the existing buildings and a new building. An entire wing of the new building is constructed in cross-laminated timber (CLT), the first building of its kind in Ontario.[13]

The campus also houses the studios of CKLU-FM, Laurentian University's campus radio station.[14]

Curriculum

The curriculum will directly address building with wood and the diverse cultures of the north, including Franco-Ontarians and the First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) peoples. Design studio will focus on design-build exercises with local communities; the program will follow the co-op model of education, with work-terms in local industries as well as architecture offices, and the standard focus on western traditions will be tempered by the study of Aboriginal traditions, ceremony, and knowledge. The overall focus is on that of 'place' within the context of the Canadian Shield.

References

1. "Architecture school planned for Sudbury’s Laurentian University". Toronto Star, May 24, 2011.
2. "$10M donation — and new name — for Laurentian's School of Architecture". CBC Sudbury, June 29, 2016.
3. "More professional programs calling Northern Ontario home". Toronto Star, May 27, 2011.
4. "Laurentian appoints architecture school director" Archived 2016-03-06 at the Wayback Machine. Northern Ontario Business, January 17, 2012.
5. "LU's school of architecture taking the next step", The Sudbury Star, September 27, 2012.
6. "Architecture school: $24.5M building set to open this September". Northern Life, April 25, 2016.
7. "Architecture school aims for 2013 opening". Northern Ontario Business, September 27, 2011.
8. "Market Square deal will 'revitalize the downtown'". Northern Life, November 11, 2011.
9. Market Square Renewal Advisory Panel. City of Greater Sudbury.
10. "Farmers' Market one step closer to new home". CBC News, October 2, 2012.
11. "School of Architecture taking over old CPR building". Sudbury Star, November 30, 2012.
12. "School of architecture releases conceptual drawings". Morning North, April 18, 2012.
13. "Architecture school receives design award". Sudbury Star, November 2, 2017.
14. Laurentian University's campus radio station moves to Sudbury's downtown. CBC News, March 14, 2016.

External links

• Official website