Construction has commenced on a $95-million Innovation Centre at the Red River College Exchange District campus in Winnipeg. This transformative project positions architectural innovation to inspire and support a culture of advanced learning and knowledge transfer.
The 100,000-square-foot development designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects in joint venture with Number TEN Architectural Group incorporates a repurposed downtown heritage building and new construction to create a dynamic crossroads with state-of-the-art facilities for applied research, entrepreneurship and commercialization.
?The Innovation Centre is deeply informed by its context with connection to the street and a layering of space and natural light through an orchestrated sequence of spaces large and small,? said Michael Leckman, Principal, Diamond Schmitt Architects. A hallmark of the Innovation Centre will be the collaboration with industry and the emerging startup sector of Winnipeg?s Innovation Alley. The building?s design features distinct and thematic zones that underscore this engagement.
?The Agora, inspired by its Greek precedent, forms the heart of the facility ? an open space for orchestrated ?collisions? between students and faculty, industry partners and the college as a whole,? added Sydney Browne, Principal, Diamond Schmitt. ?An atrium above this zone brings daylight into the core and transforms a helical stair from mere circulation to become a focal point.?
Innovation Zones including the Sandb...