Incorporating Indigenous principles, Seneca College's new Health and Wellness Centre proposes an 'architecture of reconciliation'

2023-05-01T11:56:00-04:00

A new collaborative higher-ed project from Two Row Architect and DIALOG has been proposed for Canada’s Seneca Polytechnic College in Toronto.

The proposal calls for a new Health and Wellness Centre to be delivered at the eastern edge of the school’s Newnham Campus, transforming an aged sports center structure into a multi-level complex that serves the academic community of more than 30,000.

“There are a number of big ideas that have inspired this design. One is the idea that this building will be an intimation of what an 'architecture of reconciliation' could look like,” DIALOG Partner Craig Applegath said in a statement. “And such a wonderful way of not only connecting and reconciling Indigenous and settler cultures but also of providing a gateway for potential new Canadian students to imagine what the reconciled future Canada might look and feel like. Another is that this is intended to be a truly environmentally responsible building: with plans for net-zero carbon, and sustainab...

Seneca College's Centre for Innovation facilitates storytelling with Indigenous cultural elements and inspiration

2020-03-11T11:58:00-04:00

As part of Seneca’s commitment to furthering Indigenous education, Perkins and Will has unveiled the Centre for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CITE) on the Newnham Campus. Perkins and Will worked in collaboration with the First Peoples@Seneca Office to ensure that the Indigenous communities the building represents would be conveyed in the design and artwork throughout the structure.

A highly visible atrium runs along the building’s southern edge and connects CITE with Newnham Campus on multiple levels. Bleacher stairs allow students to showcase their work and adaptable, modular interiors provide flexible classrooms and breakout spaces.

"We developed a very fulsome consultation process to ensure that Seneca’s Indigenous communities took pride and saw themselves reflected in the building," said Mark Solomon, Dean of Students and Indigenous Education at Seneca in a statement. "CITE is about ingrained knowledge that has been part of the land for generations...We needed to ...

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Incorporating Indigenous principles, Seneca College's new Health and Wellness Centre proposes an 'architecture of reconciliation'

Seneca College's Centre for Innovation facilitates storytelling with Indigenous cultural elements and inspiration