Six bright classrooms and spaces to collaborate
The space needs to be quiet enough for classes and study, despite being right under a busy section of the downtown core. There are also audio-visual requirements for all modern classes. In addition, rooms need to feel spacious and bright, regardless of the lack of natural light.
“Through collaboration with Concordia experts and external specialists, we came up with effective strategies to lighten the space. When people walk in, we think they’ll forget they’re in a basement,” says Alejandro Ortega Stark, director of architectural coordination at BARIN Architecture + Design.
The firm has over a decade of experience in institutional projects ranging from lively primary schools to complex hospitals. This second project with Concordia came with challenges resolved through great communication, according to Ortega Stark and his colleague Natalie Bérubé, senior architect and partner at BARIN.
“This project is the result of significant collaboration: in addition to all the in-house expertise at Concordia, we sought the advice of external acoustics experts and lighting designers,” says Bérubé.
Elias adds that the architects at BARIN and the engineers at EXP also realized “an incredible feat in cleaning up all of the services no longer needed in the ceiling space. And that coordination work will continue during the entire construction process.”
The main entrance to the new space will be from the corner of Ste. Catherine and Guy streets, once the access to a pool hall and bowling area. At the foot of an escalator, students will find six classrooms and four closed study spaces that they can reserve for group work, like what is found in the R. Howard Webster Library.
They will also have access to study alcoves where they can lay down their bags and get a little work done — a type of space for which demand keeps growing.