The Manitou a bi Bii daziigae at Red River College Polytechnic has officially opened on the university’s Winnipeg campus.
The project, formerly known as the Innovation Centre Project and designed by Diamond Schmitt and Number TEN Architectural Group in a joint venture, will bring together students with education and industry professionals in new ways that facilitate social innovation, enterprise, and innovative research.
The 10,000-sf facility unites a repurposed downtown concrete framed heritage building and a new construction to create an engaging crossroads in Winnipeg’s historic Exchange District. The building will house a combination of Indigenous and international student spaces, long distance teaching equipped classrooms, digital media labs and events spaces, and faculty offices.
The heart of Manitou a bi Bii daziigae is the agora. The agora is conceived as a place for campus-wide events as well as for group and quiet study. All programs overlook the agora while diagonal circulation invites its crossing and is supported by the collaboration areas that surround it. The sky-lit atrium above the agora blinds diffuse light to the center of the plan. A collaboration zone acts as a front porch between classrooms, the agora, and the atrium. The porch can be used by the classrooms, as a breakout room or project room, or independently booked by students for study groups.
The west corner of the new building is anchored by the 210-seat Roundhouse auditorium. The auditorium has a high degree of flexibility with an acoustically isolated space for ceremonial events, instruction, or celebration. At the roof level is the City Room, a beacon enveloped in a canvas of color representing traditional Indigenous teachings and local history.
The building’s facade is made of Kromatix Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) panels that change color depending on the angle of view and the weather. The facade, which is the first in Canada, conceals the solar cells behind nano-coated glass panels.
The facility’s name translates to where creator sits (Manitou a bi) and brings light (Bii daziigae).
Related Stories
University Buildings | Jul 15, 2020
New Cal Poly Research and Innovation Center includes features for a COVID-19 world
ZGF Architects is designing the building.
University Buildings | Jul 14, 2020
Cornell College partners with Johnson Controls to improve campus energy efficiency
The plan will reduce the college’s energy usage by 20%.
University Buildings | Jun 3, 2020
Renovation can turn older university buildings into high-performing labs
David Miller of BSALifeStructures offers technical advice on renovation of college and university laboratories and scientific research facilities.
University Buildings | Jun 2, 2020
COVID-19 and teaching the next generation of nurses
COVID-19 hasn’t just upended healthcare delivery, the workplace, and all levels of education – the economic toll is still being realized – and capital projects on college and university campuses will inevitably be impacted as public and privately funded projects adjust to the budget crunch.
University Buildings | May 20, 2020
JCJ Architecture, Moody Nolan complete UCONN's Student Recreation Center
The project sits at the center of the Storrs campus.
University Buildings | May 19, 2020
Clemson's new Outdoor Education Center uses a Mass Timber Structural System
Cooper Carry designed the project.
University Buildings | Apr 29, 2020
Dixie State University's new Human Performance Center
Hastings+Chivetta designed the project.
Coronavirus | Apr 10, 2020
COVID-19: Converting existing hospitals, hotels, convention centers, and other alternate care sites for coronavirus patients
COVID-19: Converting existing unused or underused hospitals, hotels, convention centers, and other alternate care sites for coronavirus patients
University Buildings | Apr 9, 2020
Designing for the next generation of student life: Academically aligned
Since many academic departments have been concentrated in their own buildings or portions of campus, bringing these disciplines into a shared facility is fairly new territory.
Coronavirus | Mar 30, 2020
Learning from covid-19: Campuses are poised to help students be happier
Overcoming isolation isn’t just about the technological face to face, it is about finding meaningful connection and “togetherness”.
