Demolition WLU Centre for Global Innovation and Exchange | ? m | ? fl

[mpd618]

I agree as well - for an urban building, this is much better.

[Lugnut]

Hands down a better design.

Makes me think of the Balsillie campus for some reason.

[bcwessel]

Every time a building is designed with obvious access through a street-facing front door in Waterloo, it is a good day. Remarkably, that's not a given right now; I'm glad to see the universities are finally starting to pay more attention to their relationship with University Ave. I assume that the next update to this render will include ample bicycle parking right out front as well.

[Anderson3133]

Is it sad that I was waiting for the redesign render to decide whether or not to get my MBA here?

I love the new design, it will do wonders for that side of University.

[metropolis]

Diamond Schmitt Architects Press Release May 18, 2012

TORONTO – Diamond Schmitt Architects returns to Doors Open Toronto (May 26-27) with two afternoons (open from 1:00PM – 5:00PM) of presentations around this year’s theme of city building. Architects will discuss current projects in Toronto, across Canada and abroad.

Visitors will learn about soon-to-open buildings, including the Regent Park Arts & Culture Centre, Bridgepoint Hospital and the adjacent renovated Don Jail, the Ryerson Image Centre, and the Sick Kids’ Hospital Research and Learning Tower. Other projects to be featured are the New Mariinsky opera house in St. Petersburg, Russia; condominium, academic, library designs as well as master plans round out 14 different presentations over the two days of Doors Open.

Architectural videos, renderings, models, plans and photography will also be on display.

Jack Diamond gets things going on Saturday, May 26 at 1:30PM with a talk on city building. Presentations will take place on the half-hour between 1:30PM and 5:00PM on both days and be led by members of the renowned Toronto-based architecture firm.

Diamond Schmitt Architects at Doors Open Toronto takes place at the company’s office located at 384 Adelaide St. W. (just east of Spadina Ave.). The event is free and wheelchair accessible.

Saturday May 26
1:30PM Jack Diamond on City Building
2:00PM Bridgepoint Hospital and the Don Jail by Gilda Giovane and Greg Colucci
2:30PM City of Vaughan Master Plan by Michael Szabo
3:00PM Campus design for University of Ontario Information Technology by Michael Szabo
3:30PM Trends in Library Design by Sydney Browne
4:00PM Global Innovation Exchange at Wilfrid Laurier University by Birgit Siber
4:30PM Diamond Schmitt’s Windscape installation for Luminato 2012 by Brad Hindson

Sunday May 27
1:30PM Sick Kids’ Hospital Research and Learning Tower by Duncan Higgins
2:00PM Ryerson Image Centre by Peggy Theodore
2:30PM Condominium projects by David Dow
3:00PM New Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia by Gary McCluskie
3:30PM St. Catharines Performing Arts Centre by Michael Treacy
4:00PM Regent Park Arts & Culture Centre by Jennifer Mallard
4:30PM Architectural illustration and urban design by Jon Soules

[UWaterloo]

No Anderson....I was thinking the same thing myself even though I'm a UW guy.

I prefer the new look though. Unversity Ave needs all the help it can get. Somebody needs to remind planners that people actually walk this stretch of road. Uni Ave between WLU and UW should be more of a showpiece of how planning in uni areas SHOULD BE, NOT SHOULDN'T BE.

[RangersFan]

New Laurier building a year behind schedule
July 18, 2012 | James Jackson | Waterloo Chronicle | LINK

Despite being a year behind schedule, officials at Wilfred Laurier University are not calling their new Global Innovation Exchange (GIE) building delayed.Originally slated to open in 2014, conceptual design changes have pushed that back to the spring of 2015.

“Once we got into the design development the university realized that we needed to change the scheme of the design to accommodate the needs of the university,” said Gary Nower, vice president of physical resources at the university.

The design aims to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver standing, an internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings.

It will be approximately 215,000 square feet and four storeys tall, with seven lecture halls with 75 to 300 seats, as well as a two-level, 1,000-seat auditorium.

The plan includes 127 surface parking spaces along the northern portion of the site, and the final price tag of the building remains unchanged at $103 million, with $72.6 million coming from the province.

[BuildingScout]

conceptual design changes have pushed that back to the spring of 2015.

I think it will be more like 2016 before it opens, considering the pace at which university construction usually happens.

[RangersFan]

Laurier breaks ground on Global Innovation Exchange
May 17, 2013 | The Waterloo Chronicle | LINK

Wilfrid Laurier University officials marked the start of construction of the Global Innovation Exchange (GIE) building on University Avenue with a ceremonial ground breaking today.

The May 17 groundbreaking event celebrated the $103-million future home of Laurier’s School of Business and Economics and Department of Mathematics, which received a $72.6-million investment from the Ontario government in 2011.


John Milloy, minister of Government Services; Max Blouw, Laurier president and vice-chancellor; Micheál Kelly, dean of Laurier’s School of Business and Economics; and Paul Jessop, dean of Laurier’s Faculty of Science broke ground following formal remarks on site.


“The Global Innovation Exchange is an exciting step forward in Wilfrid Laurier University’s service and contributions in the City of Waterloo,” said Blouw. “As the name implies, it will connect Laurier and our region increasingly to the global community, and it will be a tangible expression of the commitment of Laurier faculty, staff and students to global outreach, innovation and excellence.”