Oshawa, Ontario - Progress on Durham College's $48-million multi-phased expansion and renovation has taken an important step forward. The college has chosen the team of Adamson Associates of Mississauga and Mills & Associates of Oshawa as the architects for the $25-million construction project to expand and renovate the college's Oshawa campus.
"We had proposals from well-known local architects as well as internationally renowned firms," said Bruce Bunker, director, special projects. "It really was most difficult to select a winner." Thirty architectural firms expressed an interest in working on this project. Five firms were invited to submit detailed plans and compete in a design competition.
Durham's Oshawa campus as well the college's Skills Training Centre in Whitby are undergoing significant renovations and expansions. The enlarged facilities will help the college accommodate its increasing student enrolment, which grows by five to six per cent a year. The expansion will also help ensure that Durham College is very well prepared for 2003, when it expects to welcome 25 per cent more first-year students due to the elimination of the fifth year of high school.
Expansions at both campuses include new classrooms and exciting new computer labs, additional lecture theatres, more student service and meeting areas, and additional faculty offices. At the Oshawa campus, Durham College will also build centres for manufacturing, justice and health.
"We felt the college needed a dramatic design statement to provide a strategic transformation of the entry courtyard, thereby creating a powerful, state-of-the-art image for the college," said David Cody of Adamson Associates and David Mills of Mills & Associates. "The design features a two-storey learning commons as the focal point, with a transparent curving glass wall and information tower which punctuates the skyline and acts as a beacon for the college. The design also unifies existing campus buildings and allows for flexibility and future growth."
When the work is completed, Durham College will be able to serve an additional 3,000 students. The expansions will add a total of about 120,000 square feet of space, increasing the total college space by almost 20 per cent. The expansion of the Whitby campus will be completed this December.
Detailed plans for the Oshawa campus will be finalized over the next six months and construction is slated to begin in spring 2001. The Oshawa expansion will be completed in stages by spring 2003, with some new academic space ready by next August.
"Students, professors, our staff and the community will benefit immensely from this major expansion," commented Gary Polonsky, president of Durham College & University Centre. "This is by far one of the most significant projects since the college was established more than 30 years ago. The design and construction will also create important economic spinoffs for local design and construction firms, suppliers and workers."
The 120-person firm of Adamson Associates has worked on all types of architectural projects in Canada and overseas, including the Teo Hall Student Centre at Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, and the Canary Wharf development in London, England.
The architectural firm of Mills & Associates, whose offices are located in Oshawa, Ontario, has designed many exciting and innovative projects in Durham Region and southern Ontario. Among its many projects are the Arts Resource Centre in Oshawa and Maple Ridge Public School in Pickering.
The $48-million Durham College expansion and renovation is being financed in part by the college and its key partners. Durham's corporate partners are General Motors of Canada Ltd., IBM Canada Ltd., Bell Canada Ltd., Nortel Networks, Rockwell Automation Canada Inc., Unigraphics Solutions Canada Ltd., Schneider Electric, the Regional Municipality of Durham and Local 222 and the national office of the Canadian Auto Workers.
| Contact: | Bruce Bunker |
| Director, Special Projects Durham College & University Centre 905-721-3023 |
NOTE: Architectural drawings of the Oshawa and Whitby expansions are available electronically from bruce.bunker@durhamc.on.ca
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