A newly transformed Osgoode Hall Law School has officially opened at York University in Toronto following an extensive renovation and expansion of the 43-year-old facility that adds study and administrative space and brings an infusion of natural light to the building. The project was undertaken by a team that included construction manager Bird Construction.
TORONTO
A newly transformed Osgoode Hall Law School has officially opened at York University following an extensive renovation and expansion of the 43-year-old facility that adds study and administrative space and brings an infusion of natural light to the building.
The 215,000-square-foot project reorganizes faculty departments, student services and the law library around a new atrium, “providing a sense of light and orientation” missing in the 1960s historically listed building.
“The original structure was built at an unfortunate time when there was not as much regard for natural light as there is now,” said Jack Diamond, principal at Diamond Schmitt Architects.
The project was undertaken by a team that included construction manager Bird Construction.
A thorough renovation of the five-storey building included the complete removal of asbestos and similar hazardous substances, full replacement of mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection services and demolition of the majority of internal partitions, ceilings and finishes to allow for a total reorganization of functional program spaces.
Construction of a 23,000-square-foot, single-storey addition accommodates student services and amenities. The modernized building infrastructure is registered for LEED CI (commercial interiors) Silver certification.
“The building is organized around a central atrium and galleria that forms the east-west spine of the law school, providing clearly defined building orientation and circulation and acts as the social hub of the school,” Diamond said.
Key student and public facilities, including library, lounges, cafeteria and academic services are accessed from the galleria concourse.
The Osgoode Hall law school library, with one of the largest legal document collections in the Commonwealth, is consolidated and reorganized into windowed space on the lower two floors of the building.
Faculty offices and graduate student offices, as well as numerous research institutes, are “coherently arranged” on the upper floors of the building and primary teaching spaces are retained in the renovated, two-storey east wing.
The federal and provincial governments each provided $12.5 million under the Knowledge Infrastructure Program.
York University, partners and donors contributed an additional $32 million. The building is named the Ignat Kaneff Building in recognition of the lead private donor.
“The expansion and renovation of the Ignat Kaneff Building is a significant component of York’s plan to meet the needs of our students in Canada’s growing knowledge-based economy,” said Mamdouh Shoukri, the university’s president and vice-chancellor.
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