Knowledge Infrastructure Program at Seneca
New building to be constructed at Newnham Campus
Funding from the provincial and federal government Knowledge Infrastructure Program was first announced in May 2009 when Seneca received $24.7 million from the provincial ($21 million) and federal ($3.7 million) governments to create space for an additional 1,000 students. The funding is in response to an expected surge in post-secondary participation.
“This is an exciting project for all of us at Seneca,” says Seneca College President David Agnew. “Even though this is our largest campus, it needs to grow in order to provide more state-of-the-art teaching and learning areas for our students.”
After examining different locations, it was decided to build on the site of the Newnham Campus Annex, which would allow for greater utilization of that space. As the project evolved, Seneca decided to expand its original plans and create a 150,000-square-foot building that includes classrooms and faculty space as a well as a new multipurpose room. The room will have a flexible design that can serve as a single classroom, be divided into multiple teaching spaces or host Seneca functions. The building will be open for students September 2011.
“This building will be a main feature of the campus,” David says. “It will help to tie together other buildings on the campus, improve access throughout and create a new main entrance – a front door if you will – to welcome everyone who visits Newnham Campus.”
The building is being designed by architects at Cohos Evamy Integrated Design which has worked on projects such as the McMaster University Electron Microscopy Facility, the Lethbridge College Instructional Building, the International Arrivals Hall at the Calgary International Airport and the national headquarters of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
The construction manager for the building is Ellis Don, one of the largest building contractors in Canada. Ellis Don has previously worked on Seneca construction projects like the TEL Building at our Seneca@York Campus.
Please note that the architectural renderings on this page represent early plans, and the final views and building's appearance may change as the project evolves.
Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology