ARIDO Award: Conestoga College Cowan Centre for Medical Sciences and Biotechnology
Designed for the Health Sciences Bachelor of Applied Biotechnology and Medical Laboratory Science Programs at Conestoga College’s Doon Campus in Kitchener, the Cowan Centre transforms existing academic classrooms into state-of-the-art laboratories for cutting-edge research.
Category: PRESERVE+RESTORE
Interior Designer: Valerie Gow, ARIDO
Design Firm: Gow Hastings Architects
Photographer: Scott Norsworthy
The design needed to meet highly technical requirements while also supporting Conestoga College’s vision to “put science on display.” The team created bold and bright showcase laboratory spaces that featured the innovative research being done. Being very efficient with organizing the floorplan, the team quickly discovered that the shallow building footprint offered a unique opportunity to layer glazed openings, creating visibility into the laboratories, views to adjacent laboratories, and views out to the woodlot.
By colour-blocking with brightly coloured doors and flooring, individual laboratories are given their own
identities helping visitors to navigate the space. Strategically placed panels of floor-to-ceiling green coloured glass provide framed views of the outdoors, heightening the experience of the woodlot. While
inside the labs, scientists can refresh by looking up and out to the tree line. Atypical of most research
spaces, scientists are encouraged to peek into adjacent laboratories, transferring the energy and
excitement from the research being conducted by their peers.
Large, bold graphics were incorporated to facilitate wayfinding and create a clear identity in a sterile
laboratory environment. Vibrant greens are featured in lettering on the ground, spelling out "Biotechnology” and “Medical Science,” creating an abstract floor pattern, providing the program with an identifiable character and intuitively drawing users in through passive wayfinding. A feature wall anchors the space with an abstracted and magnified split tissue cell sliced by a microtome, one of the key instruments of the lab. The colourful graphic playfully connects back to the research conducted and brings presence to the Health Sciences Wing.
The design strategy resulted in bright, colourful, light-filled research spaces that are not typical of laboratories and generated a unique condition where research could be displayed and celebrated.
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