Yesterday, University of King’s College unveiled the architectural concept designs for one of the most ambitious campus renewal projects in the university’s rich 236-year history. The Southeast Corner Project (SEC) will be home for the King’s School of Journalism, Writing & Publishing, and include a new Athletic Centre with wellness and student services, along with ultra-modern residence space for up to 100 students.
President William Lahey hosted the unveiling of designs by architects Diamond Schmitt in association with Abbott Brown in the outdated gym, built in 1962, that the 140,000-square-foot SEC building will replace. This phase of the SEC design has been made possible due to a generous $1-million donation from the Alpha Aquilae Foundation, the family foundation created by King’s Chancellor Debra Deane Little and her husband Bob Little.
“The Southeast Corner Project is an investment in excellence and a bold addition to our storied Quad,” said President Lahey. “From the very beginning, almost two years ago, we have been committed to a uniquely collaborative process that requires active, meaningful input from faculty, students, community members, and Mi’kmaw and African Nova Scotian partners.”
Ann Sylliboy, Director of Post Secondary Education, Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey, and member of the Indigenous advisory forum at King’s (the Mawaknutma’tnej Circle) addressed the impact and outcome of the collaboration. “This remarkable act of inclusion and partnership ensures that a Mi’kmaw and Indigenous Student Centre inside the SEC becomes a place to celebrate the wisdom, storytelling, design traditions, material culture and history of the Mi’kmaw people,” said Sylliboy.
Architects Diamond Schmitt and Abbott Brown believe they have delivered a concept design that echoes the many conversations that informed their work and contributes to King’s storied Quad in a way that remains true to Andrew Cobb’s original 1928 design.
“The Southeast Corner Project will be a unique structure that balances the insular and historic setting of the Oxford-inspired Andrew Cobb Quad with the needs of a more open and inclusive campus,” explained Diamond Schmitt architect Martin Davidson, whose company boasts an extensive portfolio that includes work at many Canadian universities, the Senate of Canada, and the David Geffen Hall renovation at New York City’s Lincoln Center. “We’re excited to work with King’s and its wider community in realizing this transformational project.”
The first three floors of the new building will be home to the School of Journalism, Writing & Publishing and include Canada’s first center for excellence in podcasting, an open newsroom, audio, video and media labs, computer labs, offices and auditorium. The jewel in the design is a galleria that opens to the quad and serves as a warm, welcoming gathering space. Below grade will be a modern, full-size gymnasium as well as weight, cardio and physiotherapy rooms. The upper floors will provide affordable, accessible and flexible on-campus housing for up to 100 students.
“This will be a worthy home for our Journalism programs that continue to impress on both local and national scenes, with a lengthy list of hugely accomplished journalists working across Canada,” said Lahey. “At the same time, we are creating space for our growing MFA programs that have become huge creative and economic engines at King’s, as well as building a comfortable home for our students and faculty, where we can live, learn and grow together.”
“The Southeast Corner Project will provide a stunning venue for our mighty Blue Devils,” said Lahey, noting that King’s varsity teams “perennially punch above their weight, producing championship teams across the region and across this country.”
In his closing remarks, Lahey stated that the SEC Project is delivering what our society and world needs more than ever. “We are building a home for truth sharing and diverse storytelling that authentically reflects our communities, and indeed our nation,” he said. “With this project we are championing ambition over doubt.”
