Education Spaces

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.

Another view from the lab, showing the green glass wall partition looking onto the hallway

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.

Hallway outside one of the laboratories, features a seating area with a brightly coloured wall right above the bench

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.

ARIDO Award: 10 Bay – McMaster Graduate Student Residence

Responding to ever growing demands for quality student housing, 10 Bay – McMaster Graduate Student Residence – fosters a thriving community in the heart of Hamilton’s evolving downtown core.

Category: LIVE TOGETHER

Interior Designers: Iva Radikova, ARIDO; Laura Le Lievre, ARIDO
Design Team: Nicole Wong, Intern ARIDO

Design Firm: Diamond Schmitt Architects
Co-Design Joint Venture: SRM Architects

Photographer: Lisa Logan

On the left is an image of the lobby area showing large windows and between them bright pink wall details, while above each window is a slatted wood details. On the right is a photo a view of the building from the street.

The new residence reflects the university’s commitment to creating a vibrant campus that promotes academic excellence and the health and well-being of student life. Rising at the corner of Bay Street and King Street, the 30-storey building is home to over 644 graduate students and their families.

A study room in the library with wooden patterned ceiling panel detail

The design transforms student housing by recognizing the pivotal role of amenities for community engagement, and the impact of purposefully designed units. Multiple shared spaces are included and nurture a balance between learning and connection, while carefully detailed, light-filled, and inviting living spaces support a range of accommodations and accessibility needs.

A group of students playing music in the music room with a bright yellow accent wall, and music posters on the other wall, and interesting geometric light fixtures

A Place to Play, A Place to Grow

We had a lot of fun with this project! The LWG design team did our best to look at design of this Daycare Centre from a child’s point of view, and this design shows that perspective. This project incorporates graphic wallcoverings, playful lighting and a soft, colourful palette of finishes and textures.

Interior Designer: Bryan Wiens, ARIDO
Design Firm: LWG Architectural Interiors
Photographer: Kevin Belanger

A climbing wall in the colourfully decorated play room

The main design feature of the main motor skills room is a stylized tree, subtly referencing the ever changing world of a growing child. Entrances to each play room feature stylized architectural house elements, giving a nod to this Daycare Centre as a home away from home.

Lots of shelving and storage and small sinks and fun accent colours on the back of the shelves and on the ceiling and bulkheads

At the same time, this space was designed with much rigor, as the Ministère de la Famille in the Province of Québec has strictly defined standards that need to be adhered to in the design of a Daycare Centre. The health and safety, and overall wellbeing of the children and daycare caregivers are at the heart of this design.

Washroom equipped with tiny toilets and sinks, and plenty of storage cabinetry

We worked closely with the authorities and daycare Director to ensure all aspects of this design were considered and designed with intention. In addition to the various playrooms, rest areas, and a myriad of tiny toilets and sinks, this Daycare Centre also includes a commercial kitchen, staff support spaces, laundry facilities and lots & lots of cubbies!

ARIDO Award: School of Continuing Studies

Interior and exterior are in dialogue at York University’s new School of Continuing Studies building. The interiors respond to and compliment the unique exterior geometry of the building. This strategy allows the School to adapt to changing programming, teaching pedagogies, and the needs of students, faculty, or visiting guest lecturers.

Interior Designers: Martha del Junco, ARIDO; Tsvetelina Rabashki, ARIDO
Design Firm: Perkins&Will
Photographer: DoubleSpace Photography and Tom Arban Photography

Seating along the geometric shaped window openings provide a view of the outdoors

The ground floor creates a visual connection between the interior activities of the building and the exterior life of the campus. The design team also considered the acoustic characteristics of the entire space through an accessibility lens in order to support learning needs, emotional well-being, and inclusion for all students. The building also includes a prayer room with ablution stations and a nursing room with comfortable seating and storage space.

Wooden slat ceiling detail runs along the first and second level ceilings, while the geometric shaped window openings one side of the entire building bring in light and views

A view from the second level toward the opposite end of the building showing the entire wall of windows on one side and classrooms on the other, and wood slat ceilings above with linear lighting

ARIDO Award: CIBC Conference and Learning Centre

A people focused approach was the starting point for this new three floor conference and learning centre in Toronto. The client needed a space where they could host executive and employee training, as well as coaching and mentoring programs to advance their team’s careers.

Interior Designers: Annie Bergeron, ARIDO; Yen Lee, ARIDO; Staci McCrindle, ARIDO
Design Firm: Gensler
Design Team: Jessica Mascarenhas, ARIDO; Joshua Fajardo, Intern, ARIDO; Maggie Chen, Intern, ARIDO
Photographer: Nic Lehoux

Reception area and concierge desk at CIBC Conference and Learning Centre

The space transcends traditional conferencing facilities with technology to fully support hybrid meetings and be inclusive of all participants. The auditorium can host 1,000 attendees, with smaller meeting rooms, an open crush space, and a large commercial kitchen to serve varied hospitality needs.

Cafe area with simple modern furniture, linear lighting along the ceiling and same detail on the walls by the elevators

Large Conference room with multiple round tables, two storey ceiling with linear lighting running across in a square pattern

Accessibility was key, with the design team establishing an unaided street-to-meet path of independence for people of varying mobilities as well as gender-neutral washrooms, voice-activated controls, and contrasting materials and braille integration for people with vision loss.

A lesson in design from these Award winning educational spaces

To continue our celebration of the 40th ARIDO Awards, this week we are looking back at some ARIDO Award winning projects by Registered Interior Designers that inspire, empower and light the path to a brighter future.

We are thrilled the ARIDO Awards will return to an in-person format this year on October 5th, 2023!

ARIDO Award: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Lobby and Entrance

View of the lobby with modular curvy seating in a blue colour and seating area along the wall of windows

The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at UofT , a leader in Indigenous Education, is a decades-old institution with a demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity, and social justice. However, the entrance and lobby to the OISE building were dark, challenging to access from busy Bloor Street West, and did not meet the diverse needs or achievements of this institution’s community. The design strategy was to create an inclusive and accessible space that facilitates community building, incorporates Indigenous design elements, and creates a safe environment with enhanced wayfinding and branding.

Interior Designer: Valerie Gow, ARIDO
Design Firm: Gow Hastings Architects
Joint Venture: Two Row Architect
Photographer: Tom Arban

Read full article here.

ARIDO Award: Deep Time Hall at the National Museum of Natural History

The entrance to the exhibit with the winding graphic panel illustrating the journey through time

With over 700 exquisitely preserved fossil specimens, miniature environmental models, immersive environments, and interactive media, this interior provides visitors with an understanding of the history of life on Earth. The space is teeming with the power of life, buoyed by the unrelenting forces of evolution.

Interior Designer: Cathy Lazo, ARIDO
Design Firm: Reich&Petch
Photographer: Chris Payne, Miguel Montalvo

Read full article here.

ARIDO Award Winner: St. Francis Xavier University – Brian Mulroney Institute of Government

Students move through the Mulroney Institute with a birch wood stair and glass lined second floor which overlooks the main floor.

The new Brian Mulroney Institute of Government is a dynamic nexus of academic and social life on the highly picturesque St. Francis Xavier University campus. The 88,460 SF building features flexible and modern learning spaces, large tiered classrooms, a 300-person auditorium, administrative offices and meeting spaces, exhibition spaces, and an open atrium fondly named “The Forum”.

Interior Designers: Chen Cohen, ARIDO; Kayley Mullings, ARIDO
Design Firm: Moriyama & Teshima Architects
Joint Venture: Barrie and Langille Architects Ltd.
Photographer: Riley Snelling

Read full article here.

ARIDO Award Winner: Centre for Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship

A 10 meter terazzo medallion called "Circle of Indigenous Knowledge" designed by Indigenous artist Joseph Sagaj creates a moment of reflection and orientation at the building's entry.

Centre for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CITE) showcases Seneca’s commitment to entrepreneurial innovation as well as a sustainable vision for the future inspired by an Indigenous worldview. The design, which evolved through extensive consultation with Seneca’s executive leadership, academic stakeholders, and The Aboriginal College Council, brings together applied research, commercialization, specialized training, and an entrepreneurial incubator for both students and industry leaders.

Interior Designer: Janine Grossmann, ARIDO
Design Firm: Perkins&Will
Design Team: Tsvetelina Rabashki, ARIDO; Martha del Junco, ARIDO
Photographer: Doublespace Photography

Read full article here.

This classroom design projects the future

The Ted Rogers School of Management at TMU expanded their ability for diverse, experiential learning with the Classroom of the Future. This inventive interior was designed as a flexible, non-hierarchical, non-directional prototype classroom that can be used as a lecture hall, study space, student lounge, and even a venue for TEDx presentations.

Interior Designer: Patty Clydesdale, ARIDO
Design Firm: DPAI Architecture Inc.
Photographer: Michael Muraz

Another view of the main classroom, or lecture hall and the geometric LED lighting above

The interior is designed around four custom soft geometrical bright orange seating pieces positioned in a way that promotes casual and comfortable interaction in a non-hierarchical environment.

Above the seating units are dimmable ceiling light fixtures constructed from LED lighting strips clad in a translucent stretch acoustic fabric. Additional seating is provided in two areas for laptop use. One is a long narrow hallway adjacent to the main classroom space, lined with a long bar height table and stools. The other is a table that stems off of the central classroom surrounded by soft blue seating cubes which can also be distributed throughout the space for varied seating options.

Narrow hallway room adjacent to the lecture hall lined with bar height table along the wall, as seen from the main lecture hall

Small table for laptop use that stems off the main classroom, is decorated with moveable blue seating units

The classroom also features multiple interactive projectors that cast images onto three walls, offering ultimate flexibility in viewing angles. The lecturer can roam freely about the space with a wireless microphone and remote for changing the projected images. A state of the art, centrally located, omnidirectional speaker ensures high sound quality in all parts of the room. Students can remotely receive the presentation on their laptops to provide further functionality to the space.

Another view of the main classroom, or lecture hall showing how the orange seating units can be used for lap top use as well

The innovative “unranked” design of the lecture hall was intended to create a sense of community participation and foster interaction between students and lecturers – a departure from the hierarchical seating found in most post – secondary environments. Traditional lecture halls place the professors front and centre of the classroom to optimize the students’ attention, but this can discourage interaction and discussion, and can even feel intimidating for some, instead of encouraging them to share and voice their opinions.

ARIDO Award: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Lobby and Entrance

The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at UofT , a leader in Indigenous Education, is a decades-old institution with a demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity, and social justice. However, the entrance and lobby to the OISE building were dark, challenging to access from busy Bloor Street West, and did not meet the diverse needs or achievements of this institution’s community. Our design strategy was to create an inclusive and accessible space that facilitates community building, incorporates Indigenous design elements, and creates a safe environment with enhanced wayfinding and branding.

Interior Designer: Valerie Gow, ARIDO
Design Firm: Gow Hastings Architects
Joint Venture: Two Row Architect
Photographer: Tom Arban

Night image illuminated dimensional OISE letter sign on the front of the building

View of the OISE building from Bloor street and dimensional OISE letter sign on the front of the building

To visually enhance the OISE campus presence among the hustle and bustle of a busy Toronto street, we made signage improvements including illuminated dimensional letter sign on the building front. We designed a perforated copper welcome sign with an internally illuminated screen that signposts the stairs leading to the main entrance. To make the path to the entrance brighter and more welcoming, we dispersed LED light sticks amongst feather reed grass and Indigenous hydrangea landscaping along the arcade.

A perforated copper welcome sign with an internally illuminated screen that signposts the stairs leading to the main entrance

Building access and navigation within the interior were improved by replacing the existing revolving entrance with a new glass vestibule with motion-sensored doors, and the slippery quarry tile ramp was reworked with non-skid porcelain. Inside, two digital directories assist with internal wayfinding.

While most of the lobby is a double-height space, the elevator lobby contained a lowered ceiling that made it feel dark and confined. To embrace this existing element, mirrors were added above the elevator lobby entry and along its ceiling to reflect light and visually expand the upper limit of the existing ceiling. By doing this we created the illusion that the elevator lobby also has high ceilings. The elevator lobby entryway serves as a point of interest for installing electronic signage and a blue-branded OISE sign. This allows users to quickly view signage and key information as they enter the lobby.

Elevator lobby entrance showing the mirrors on the ceiling that make the whole space seem to have double height like the rest of the lobby space

The layout of the lobby was carefully planned to increase efficiency of space usage. Considering the Indigenous community planned to use the space for discussions, the lobby was maintained as an open lounge area with flexibility of use, including modular soft seating for talking circles, as well as touchdown stations for studying. These were strategically located along the existing large floor to ceiling windows, to maximize student study space with access to natural light and views to outside. The lobby provides renewed space for placemaking, gathering and discussion, featuring a modular sofa that winds and curves at 70-degree angles, configuring a non-hierarchical seating order for talking circles.

Indigenous design elements are integrated into the lobby and entrance to highlight OISE’s commitment to Indigenization, including a floor-to-ceiling wampum belt installation by the entryway to elevator lobby. It is a rendition of the Dish With One Spoon wampum, which marks an agreement originally made between the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe that models how relationships should be formed and maintained in Tkaronto (Toronto). Constructed with white and purple steel pipes, the installation inventively emulates the tubular shape and natural colouring of quahog clam shell beads used in traditional wampum belts.

Cedar and copper were used both outdoors and indoors to accent key design elements, drawing from their significance as meaningful materials used by Indigenous groups in the Great Lakes region for thousands of years. The upgraded building arcade and new glass main entrance vestibule are ornamented with copper signage that promotes the OISE brand, while the indigenous hydrangea landscaping along the arcade makes the path to the entrance more inviting. Under the shade of the building canopy are benches made from cedar – selected for its significance as a traditional medicine plant – which warm up the surrounding concrete and provide places to sit and relax.

View of the lobby facing the elevator entrance with modular curvy seating in a blue colour and seating area along the wall of windows

Another unique element of the space is its alignment with Indigenous directionality, which helps OISE meet the objective of incorporating Indigenous design elements and perspectives into the lobby. Linear light fixtures stretch across the ceiling to form the pattern of the Pleiades star cluster, known to Indigenous groups as the Seven Sisters. The copper-coloured in-sets run along the floor to align with the sacred cardinal directions of north, east, south, and west.

The hydroponic plant wall is a biophilic element in this interior that is both aesthetic and functional focal point of the lobby while improving indoor air quality. This vertical garden builds a biofilter with two layers of plants, whose exposed roots consume air contaminants and provide biofiltration. The wall brings the natural world inside, and in addition to improving air quality, improves the sense of well-being.

The renovation of the OISE entrance and lobby creates dedicated spaces which honour and reflect Indigenous identities and cultures, and are inclusive, comfortable and welcoming for Indigenous students, faculty and staff.

ARIDO Award: Deep Time Hall at the National Museum of Natural History

The design of The Smithsonian’s new permanent gallery, Deep Time Hall at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC expresses its central message; life flows powerfully forward, dramatic extinctions disrupt and life resets – but is never the same. We as designers had to translate this comprehensive story of 4.6 billion years of life on earth into an engaging and memorable exhibition.

Interior Designer: Cathy Lazo, ARIDO
Design Firm: Reich&Petch
Photographer: Chris Payne, Miguel Montalvo

Large hall with the central path winding through the numerous displays on all sides under the bright skylights

Unlike virtually every other palaeontology exhibit, The Deep Time Hall compares past to present, and continues its story into the future to illustrate the climate crisis and how humans are currently affecting change at a global scale. The rich series of displays provides a comprehensive story of life on earth in a comfortable, newly restored, light and airy heritage hall that welcomes visitors of all ages to explore.

The Deep Time Hall invites visitors to walk along the central path through the heritage column bays and under the glorious daylight of the restored atrium. The hall is lined with long benches that provide spaces to pause and take in the most charismatic fossils in the gallery.

Large exhibition hall with the central path winding through the numerous displays on all sides under the bright skylights

The materials palette – silver metals, white graphic backdrops, and gray stone with pops of accent colours per time period – was chosen to feel timeless and clean and to contrast the warm off-whites and browns of the heritage space, to differentiate the old and the new.

Existing collections and assets from the museum have been interpreted in a new way, like the Triceratops, a long-time feature that has been placed in an updated action pose together with the Museum’s new T-Rex model. Important scientific artworks were scanned and incorporated onto the walls of the galleries along with new murals.

Our team carefully created highly custom installations; from the shaping of the shards of stone and gravel across each platform, to the hand painted towering steel tree structures placed as backdrops to the large scale dinosaur models. Lighting has been strategically integrated into the display platforms and positioned carefully to create drama and volume for both the large and small specimens.

The gallery is a testament to the Smithsonian’s commitment to accessibility, diversity, and inclusion. Diversity of voice was critical in determining who was represented in the gallery. Female scientists speaking about their work, African American community initiatives in the Age of Humans theatre, and Native American bronzed figures hunting a Mastodon at the front entrance are all examples of carefully curated imagery which provides a diverse representation. Our AV media ‘Your Body through Time’ exhibit presents a non-binary animated host to time travel with visitors.

Colourful interactive displays of underwater life showing evolution of animals and plant life

Additionally, physical installations were designed to incorporate accessibility features. Examples include a portal into a periscope interactive installation provided at multiple heights and the many benches with handrails placed throughout the gallery interior. Cane detection was considered for all elements within the gallery, and a motion sensor based interactive display was developed for users of wheelchairs.

Over 40 bronze touchable models are spread across each area of the Hall. The display information has easy-to-read large text. The option of using the integrated audio technology with descriptive audio for the media programs or the Hall’s Accessibility App is also available.

The Smithsonian Hall of Fossils – Deep Time exhibition implores the public to remain engaged, informed, and urgently hopeful through many interactive and immersive experiences.

A display of how the human foot print affects the different continents on our planet

The exhibition reflects on themes of connection, evolution, extinction, and the environment. It encapsulates billions of years of science, summarizing numerous time periods through impressive fossil specimens, informative text, dioramas, murals, videos, interactive touchscreens and touchable objects.

This Deep Time Hall is sure to impact generations of visitors to Washington D.C. It further reflects that we, as a species, do not live within a vacuum and must be attuned and connected to a constantly changing planet.

A lesson in bringing history and innovation together

Toronto Metropolitan University’s (formerly Ryerson University’s) Centre for Urban Innovation is a facility where science research labs, fabrication, incubation, assembly and commercial spaces come together to create real world applications of alternative energy, water management, data analytics, and smart urban infrastructure. A major addition and renovation to an existing heritage building, this project embodies the spirit of resilience and adaptive reuse by preserving the original structure.

Interior Designer: Chen Cohen, ARIDO

Design Firm: Moriyama & Teshima Architects

Photographer: Riley Snelling

Mesh ceiling detail above the accessibility ramp at the entrance interior

The design preserves the original heritage building, including its distinctive chimney features, while inserting two new, interconnected structures. Labs and research areas are customized to be experimentally attractive and scientifically rigorous. The newly designed interior also provides places for researchers to mingle and share ideas by housing meeting rooms, lounge spaces, and kitchenettes; common rooms shared between various research departments encourage awareness and exchange.

Contrast between the old brick building on the left and the new addition on the right. The common area atrium in the middle

Lounge and kitchen area in between the two contrasting buildings, between old and new with brick exposed

The project manages to protect the history of the original structure while creating a seamless interior interface between the public and research activity. Several of the major spaces within the heritage building have been retained, such as decorative wood beams that were restored in their entirety. Other major spaces have been partially preserved with minimal partitions to allow the original details to remain visible.

The materiality and details of the new addition are meant to draw from the innovative nature of the Centre. The exterior cladding of the new additions primarily consists of aluminum expanded metal mesh; the contrast between the heritage building’s stone cladding and the newly introduced metal panels allow users a glimpse of the interior modernization within. As users make their way through the building, the aluminum metal mesh panels are strategically used as feature ceilings, providing a subtle sheen that recalls the scales of a fish.

Active areas for each department are highlighted through the use of vibrant blue accents; from seat cushions and flexible soft seating modules in the main atrium space, to laboratory safety flooring, through to informal collaboration areas located on each floor. Blue metal archways spanning from floor to ceiling were also created to signify the transition between the heritage building and the new additions and are a wayfinding feature at each of these critical points.

Vibrant blue accent walls spanning from floor to ceiling in lounge areas throughout the hallways

Reflecting the Centre’s spirit of efficiency, clarity, and exchange, a central four-storey sky-lit atrium encloses and links the original heritage building to the new addition. Each tier of the new space features floor to ceiling glazing, allowing dynamic views into lab spaces. Stepped seating on the north side of the atrium not only connects users to the second level, but also serves as an active space for gathering, studying, and industry presentations.

A spacious and bright study area with traditional ceiling details mixed with contemporary lighting

The building signals a new level of research excellence at TMU and has become an interdisciplinary hub where ideas and collaborative research will thrive.