Moriyama and Teshima Architects has designed the Seneca Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) Building, which was unveiled earlier this week by York University and Seneca College of Applied Arts, in Toronto. The $88 million facility is the most technologically advanced facility in the province of Ontario, featuring wireless communications, multi-media lecture halls and computer laboratories that will be used by up to 4000 York and Seneca students. The design presents a series of overlapping visual and spatial experiences with copious amounts of natural light. Three distinct atria, each one unique in the way that it captures natural light, introduce varying degrees of porosity. An interior “street” at the main level provides visual connections with the outdoors and overlooks another “street” below. A sense of community is fostered through the reduction of the building’s large scale, achieved with the design of a continuous flow of space. Energy efficiency measures were implemented to support sustainability and to realize a 25% reduction in energy consumption. The building was built as a partnership between York University and Seneca College, to promote research and development of new modes of teaching and learning that take advantage of technology. Moriyama and Teshima has also designed for the adjacent [email protected] building.
