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York University Gets A Grand Entrance with A Winning Design...One Brick At A Time -- Honour Court/Info Centre to Recognize Donors, Offer Warm Welcome to Campus
York University President Dr. Lorna Marsden and Stephen Teeple of Stephen Teeple and Associates, (Architects) will turn the first sod on the project site, which is located on York Boulevard across from the Harry Arthurs Common. The 500 sq. ft. honour court and welcome centre, which will be completed by May 2000, will provide York community members and visitors with a central welcoming point while giving proper recognition to the donors who have contributed to the University's dizzying success in its first 40 years.
"The new pavilion will become the architectural focal point to welcome visitors and students new to the campus," said York University President Dr. Lorna Marsden. "Through the honour court, the pavilion will also serve the dual purpose of demonstrating York University's heart-felt appreciation to its benefactors who have contributed so generously to the University's development during its first 40 years, and establish a means of acknowledging those who will carry on this great work of philanthropy," she said.
The honour court and greeting centre was made possible by the generosity of York University's leading benefactor Seymour Schulich.
The names of the University's major benefactors and donors will be commemorated one brick at a time. Stones containing the names of donors will be placed in the slots of the stone and concrete walls of the honour court. As donors contribute to building the university, they also build the honour court.
Said York University Vice-President (University Advancement) Gary J. Smith,"With the stone inserts of benefactors, the design is very much an organic one, growing, developing and changing over time with the addition of each new donor name in the wall."
The winning design by Stephen Teeple and Associates was unanimously chosen from among five entries of some of Canada's leading architectural firms by a university jury committee. The pavilion's design will make use of a collage of textures, constructed of stone, wood and corten steel. Natural light will filter through the honour court walls in the daytime, while at night it will be a beacon of light visible to the surrounding environment. It will also feature a watershed fountain marking the pavilion's axis along the boulevard, and the selection of landscape materials will reflect the changing seasons through contrasts of colour.
The new structure which will replace the existing information kiosk will be built by Kenaidan Construction. A new main entrance gate to be constructed at the foot of York Boulevard and Keele Street is also under consideration.
York, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary from March 26, 1999 to March 26, 2000, is Canada's third-largest university with 40,000 full and part-time students and 150,000 alumni strong. It is nationally and internationally respected for its innovative research and award-winning teaching. With its combination of dedicated and talented faculty, opportunities for bright and ambitious students, dynamic curriculum and modern campuses in one of North America's most influential urban centres, York University is setting the modern standard in academic excellence.
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For more information, please contact:
Mary Lynn Reimer
Sine MacKinnon
Ken Turriff |
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