Western University, a publicly-funded research university in London, Ontario, has a new campus hub for entrepreneurship and innovation. Designed by the Toronto studio of Perkins&Will, in association with Cornerstone Architecture, the new Ronald D. Schmeichel Building for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (SEIB) building flexibly accommodates a unique dual-purpose program: an “innovation agora” and a central event and conferencing hub.
Completed in late 2024, the 100,000 sq-ft building extends the university’s history of teaching entrepreneurship. The Institute for Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Growth was launched at Western’s globally renowned Ivey Business School in 1995. By 2020, the institute—now known as the Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship—needed to accommodate new growth and embarked on a plan to establish a permanent home for entrepreneurship and innovation along Western Road.
The SEIB integrates dual uses with distinct identities and user profiles: the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Centre (EIC), and a campus wide event and conferencing hub. The building’s “boomerang”-shaped plan—composed of two wings converging at a central shared two-story lobby—allows each use to have a discrete entry and architectural program.
Home to the EIC, the northeastern wing contains the largest makerspace in Canada that spans two floors and measures approximately 5,683 square feet. The makerspace includes traditional shop hand tools and metal and woodworking machinery, such as table saws and a drill press, on the first floor. Meanwhile, the second floor features sewing machines and 3D printers among other tools. The makerspace fits seamlessly alongside other collaborative learning spaces, multi-purpose offices, and co-working areas.
The SEIB’s southwestern wing houses a 400-seat event space and an adjacent outdoor venue. The building’s dual functions were driven in part by the university’s desire to intensify campus land-use.
Recognizing that true innovation and creativity requires a convergence of perspectives, it was critical that the SEIB’s design prioritize inclusivity and accessibility, and welcome students from varied educational backgrounds. Highly visible, connected, and accessible, the building was envisioned as a “connected attractor”: a dynamic architectural presence that would forge a series of accessible cross-campus connections.
A direct response to the site’s complex conditions, Perkins&Will’s plan for the SEIB discretely organizes the building’s hybrid program, while framing a naturalized forecourt that is sheltered from prevailing winds and the busy campus arterial road.
The SEIB’s syncopated stone façade is composed of a high-performing and innovative cladding: a composite aluminum honeycomb panelling faced with a 6mm Indiana limestone veneer. This stone veneer functions as a contemporary nod to the campus’ Collegiate Gothic masonry buildings, while offering a significant reduction in carbon compared to traditional stone veneer buildings.
The façade composition subtly reinterprets the beveled, cut stone window surrounds of the adjacent law faculty building, located immediately to the SEIB’s south. The resulting vertical stone louvres shade against the sun and limit solar gains on the west-facing principal façade. The rigorous vertical rhythm is disrupted through the subtraction of frame elements, creating a syncopation that both highlights the location of gathering spaces and acts as a metaphor for the university’s culture of innovation.
Team:
Architect of Record/Design Architect: Perkins&Will
Associate Architect: Cornerstone Architecture
Principal-in-Charge: Safdar Abidi, OAA, ALBNL, NSAA, FRAIC, LEED® AP BD+C
Design Principal/Senior Designer: Andrew Frontini, OAA, NSAA, FRAIC, LEED® AP BD+C
Project Architect/Project Designer: David D'Andrea, OAA, LEED® AP BD+C
Interior Design Lead: Martha del Junco, ARIDO, NCIDQ, LEED® AP ID+C
Project Manager: Alan Mortsch, OAA, MRAIC
Contract Admin: Alison Hannay, BES BArch OAA MRAIC LEED®AP(BD+C) (Cornerstone Architecture); Ryan Ollson, MRAIC OAA GGP LEED Green Associate (Cornerstone Architecture)
Intern Architect/Technician: Ana Paredes, PhD
Structural Engineer: Rick Stranges, P.Eng. (VanBoxmeer & Stranges Ltd); Phil Rizzo, P.Eng. (VanBoxmeer & Stranges Ltd)
Electrical Engineer: Robert Gorden (Chorley & Bisett Ltd.); Mike Myatt (Chorley & Bisett Ltd.)
Mechanical Engineer: Dennis Dawe, P.Eng., LEED AP Designated Consulting Engineer (Chorley & Bisett Ltd.)
Building Science: Steve Kemp, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., LEED AP BD+C, LEED Fellow (RDH Building Science Inc.); Sara Gray, M.Sc., P.Eng., CAHP (RDH Building Science Inc.)
Foodservice: Eva Chuchmach (Kaizen Foodservice Planning & Design Inc.); Paul Cumpstey, FCSI (Kaizen Foodservice Planning & Design Inc.)
Landscape Architect: Martha Berkvens, O.A.L.A., C.S.L.A. (Ron Koudy’s)
Cost Consultant: Ted Hyde, PQS, GSC, LEED AP. (Marshall & Murray, now BTY Group)
Vertical Transportation: Jonathan Soberman, P. Eng. (Soberman Engineering)
Specifications: Juste Fanou, BCC, BCIN (JMF Technical Documentation Solutions Inc)
Code: Nicole St-Pierre, BCIN, Honours B.A. (NSP Consultants Inc.)
Geothermal: Brian Beatty, P.ENG (Salas O'Brien); Jeremy Beatty, B.SC., MBA (Salas O'Brien)
Acoustic Consultant: Michael Wesolowsky, PH.D., P.ENG. (Thornton Tomasetti)
Sustainability: Diana Lovatsis, LEED® Green Associate, WELL AP, Fitwel Ambassador, RELi AP (CLA Smiciklas Studio Inc.)
Civil Engineering: Laurence Murray, PEO, OPSE (Development Engineering Limited), Ryan A. Hern, PEO, OSPE, MCSCE (Development Engineering Limited)
General Contractor: Peter Hayman, Hayman Construction Ltd.
Photo credits: Tom Arban Photography, Lisa Logan Photography
Materials Used:
Cladify
Gregus Millwork
Eco Architectural Glass Inc.
Turnkey Site Solutions Inc.
Richvale York Block
Arpa Industriale
Centura Tile (Ariostea)
Armstrong
Centura Tile (Roppe)
Tarkett
Bernardo Group Inc.
Keilhauer
Teknion
