Formerly of mcfarlane green biggar ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN,
Now of office of mcfarlane biggar ARCHITECTS + DESIGNERS inc
Steve McFarlane, FRAIC
Located at the edge of the relatively new campus, the new Trades and Technology Building mediates between the existing college grounds and the forested bluff that marks the southern edge of the property. The formal parti is derived from the clear division between the indoor and outdoor shop-type learning spaces and the more traditional classroom settings, and is informed by the desire for future expansion. A generous linear public space succinctly organizes all of the elements while providing a day lit connection to the existing main campus building. The humble material palette of the industrial landscape is embraced and celebrated throughout the building.
.
.
.
photos: JP Delage
.
"Transformed by a series of big, bold moves that celebrate basic materials, modular construction and an industrial ethos, this modest programme for a technical trades college elevates the commonplace into the heroic. Embedded within the sober, stripped-back structure, a dignified and generous set of spaces form an uplifting environment for technical education and show how apparently ordinary buildings can be elevated into truly memorable architecture."