OCAD U, formerly known as the Ontario College of Art and Design, wants the surrounding community to reimagine its main office building as an interactive gateway for its campus in Toronto.
To achieve that goal, the university commissioned a $6 million renovation for that 16,300-sf building, whose exterior will be shrouded with a diaphanous white veil of water-jet-cut aluminum panels on metal framing secured by structural steel outriggers.
The façade that Bortolotto Design Architect has proposed would fan out from the edges of the building, like it’s opening up to visitors. The veil will also provide street-level views of student artwork.
ArchDaily reports that the college’s Digital Media Research Lab is developing an app to read information from specific sections of the façade, so pedestrians will be able to learn about different local artists.
OCAD U is rebranding the building as The Rosalie Sharp Pavilion, named after benefactors Rosalie and Isadore Sharp, who donated $3 million of the project’s budget. The college is paying the rest. The office building’s interior space will be converted into a flexible-use, student-oriented facility that includes minimalist studios and rooms for meetings and events.
The Building Team on this renovation also includes Blackwell (SE), ENSO Systems (mechanical/electrical engineer), and Halsall Associates (sustainability consultant). The contractor has yet to be chosen, and the groundbreaking date still needs to be set.
Bortolotto reportedly came up with this patterned veil design by mapping data about Toronto’s artistic community in order to position OCAD U as the nucleus of that activity, and as a cross-disciplinary, collaborative institution.
“The pattern inscribed in the scrim is defined as the notion of OCAD U as densely embedded within the urban fabric of the city,” Tania Bortolotto, the firm’s president, told Daily Commercial News.
The Arch Daily report notes that the peel-away edges of the pavilion “gesture” toward the nearby Art Gallery of Ontario, designed by Frank Gehry; as well as the university’s Sharp Centre for Design, designed by aLL Design’s Will Alsop.
Related Stories
University Buildings | Feb 29, 2016
4 factors driving the student housing market
In the hyper-competitive higher education sector, colleges and universities view residence halls as extensions of their academic brands, both on and off campus.
University Buildings | Feb 17, 2016
New ideas to help universities attract and empower STEM students
Educational institutions are focusing on new learning strategies that engage students in activities, enable collaboration across STEM disciplines, and encourage students to use their hands just as much as their heads, as Stephen Blair of CannonDesign writes.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 1, 2016
Top 10 kitchen design trends for 2016
Charging stations, built-in coffeemakers, and pet stations—these are among the top kitchen design trends for the coming year, according to a new survey of kitchen and bath designers by the National Kitchen & Bath Association.
| Jan 14, 2016
How to succeed with EIFS: exterior insulation and finish systems
This AIA CES Discovery course discusses the six elements of an EIFS wall assembly; common EIFS failures and how to prevent them; and EIFS and sustainability.
Greenbuild Report | Dec 10, 2015
AASHE’s STARS tool highlights the university sector’s holistic approach to sustainability
Buzzwords like “living lab” and “experiential learning” are indicative of the trend toward more holistic sustainability programs that incorporate all facets of college life.
University Buildings | Nov 5, 2015
How active design is reshaping higher education campuses
Active design, a dynamic approach to design with a primary focus on people, assists students in learning to make healthy choices, writes LPA's Glenn Carels.
University Buildings | Nov 4, 2015
Yale completes Singapore campus
The Yale-NUS College has three residence halls and two administrative and academic buildings, with courtyards in the middle of them all.
University Buildings | Oct 16, 2015
5 ways architecture defines the university brand
People gravitate to brands for many reasons. Campus architecture and landscape are fundamental influences on the college brand, writes Perkins+Will's David Damon.
University Buildings | Oct 16, 2015
Competency-based learning: A glimpse into the future of higher education?
For better or worse, the higher education experience for many young Millennials and Gen Zers will not resemble the four-year, life-altering experience that we enjoyed—it’s just too costly.
University Buildings | Sep 21, 2015
Vietnamese university to turn campus into ‘terraced forest’
Pockets of plantings will be dispersed throughout the staggered floors of the building, framing the expansive courtyard at its center.