University design

The Universidad Internacional del Ecuador (UIDE) is a prominent academic institution currently undergoing a comprehensive renovation of its facilities. The primary goal is to align its physical spaces with its new academic programs and pedagogical approach, placing technology at the core of its practices. Manuela Ruiz In 2022, the university had already commissioned Contract Workplaces to renovate the ground floor of the Classroom Building and the Admissions area. This time, to continue supporting the institution in its transformation process, UIDE once again entrusted Contract Workplaces with the remodeling of the School of Health and Life Sciences. Manuela Ruiz The project involved a partial interior renovation and the creatio... More

Client Brief and Expectations: Design a Vertical University in an Urban Landscape that will inspire the current and future generation of students during their daily course of life on the campus. Architecture of the space should encourage constant collaboration and allow room for inclusive teaching and learning in every corner of the campus. All the spaces should be transparent, yet everyone on campus should feel safe and secure, at the same time comfortable for anyone to express. Yamini Krishna Photography While the ways of teaching and learning are going through change, this university should be able to withstand the test of time and be able to easily adapt and accommodate. Yamini Krishna Photography Challenges:  The... More

At the gateway to Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, currently stands Shinhigwauk Hall, the former residential school where children from 184 First Nations communities across Canada were taken from their parents, families, culture and communities. Since the school’s official closure in 1970, the Children of Shinhigwauk Alumni Association, the survivors of the school, have been working with Algoma University to heal this place, and work toward reconciliation through the vision of a cross-cultural learning centre – a facility of healing, cultural preservation, dialogue and transformation. A new heart for the campus, the design intent of the Makwa Waakaa’igan Indigenous Centre of Cultural Excellence is to provide... More

Design ObjectiveTo create a campus for learning and interaction between students and faculty, in line with the best practices globally, and, to create a template for highly energy efficient building construction, Design for flexibility of space usage and adpatbiltiy for future growth. What really won for us was the non-cookie cutter approach to the design of different campuses. Each location had a different climate, a different traditional visual language of architecture. Suryan//Dang Because of our initial experience of research in the northern hilly regions in Kashmir and Leh, we also had a first hand experience of how that particular place wanted. So, we created the designs of these institutes with an architectural language rooted... More

La Trobe University’s twin building student accommodation development brings 624 new student beds to its eastern residential precinct and forms a key part of an ambitious plan to transform their Bundoora campus into a University City of the Future. John Gollings The buildings form two sweeping arcs, creating strong edges to the campus ‘street’ network and a large central ‘private’ courtyard space. A transparent glazed curtain wall for communal spaces and continuous perimeter seating create pedestrian scale and encourage students to informally sit, gather and engage with the buildings and broader street context. Peter Clarke Peter Clarke While creating a warm and human-centric solution, this pro... More

I had the pleasure to photograph the new Wilfrid Laurier Student Commons in Brantford, designed by DPAI. The firm's designs often include colourful designs and this project was no exception. From bright pink in the common areas to colour-coded classrooms to green in the international students' area, the design brings warmth and fun to the facility. More

“Breath-taking” is a double edged sword… in Leh.  There are tomes written about the majesty, grandeur and the raw beauty of Ladakh, and for those who have travelled, and had a bout of “mountain sickness”, it’s quite something else.   The mountains, and the shadows cast by clouds in different seasons create a mesmerizing kaleidoscope of colour and texture. And yet, for those who live there, the weather and the altitude are a formidable companion to live with. And if that was not enough, it is a highly unstable, seismically active geology!  How does one, then, create a built environment, that is …“suitable”!? A simple word.. which sets off a whole area of research. Arm... More