[Dartman]

I know this is not as big a project as others that are going on in Halifax, but this building is going to be a great addition to the Saint Mary's campus.

----

In keeping with the University's strategic direction for development and renewal, the construction of the new $17.5 million Atrium complex will provide greatly needed teaching, research and community space that will elevate the student experience.

The new 43,000 sq. ft., 3-storey Atrium will be constructed to LEED certification standards and be located in the northwest corner of the campus on Inglis Street and attached to the Science, Patrick Power Library and Burke Buildings.

Unique features include:

The Global Learning Commons – a wireless, student-centred, barrier-free communal learning space that encourages interaction between faculty, students and staff, and will provide more opportunity for community engagement.
An Interior Biowall – a "living wall" that cleanses the air and provides an ecological approach to maintaining the indoor environment.
Additional research labs, office space and stateof-the-art classrooms with equipment and layouts that optimize effective and enjoyable instruction.
An Information Technology Centre – to complement the existing wireless campus.
The Atrium building project is the result of the commitment and support from alumni and friends who believe in Saint Mary's mission of academic and research excellence, fiscal responsibility, accessibility and outreach to local and international communities.


smu.ca

http://www.stmarys.ca/administration/facman/images/atrium-large.jpg

[Dmajackson]

This is part of the "Campus Master Plan" SMU is undertaking to make the campus more attractive and useful.

Here's a link to the whole project: Campus Master Plan (http://www.smu.ca/masterplan/core.html)

The "Atrium" is building C-1 in the "core" section.

This will be a nice addition to SMU. :)

[Keith P.]

They are really looking to jam a lot of buildings into that small space.

[Dmajackson]

This project is underway. They were digging up the ground the last time i went by.

[Dmajackson]

This isn't the same project but the house in front of this spot is being expanded.

[Dmajackson]

If anybody actally interested in this all they've poured the foundation. I won't be around this area for awhile...

[Dmajackson]

They are working on the frame for the third floor right now.

[Dmajackson]

Picture time.

All photos taken by me today;

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3460/3368312817_47d351fe75_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3651/3368314109_9db74cba72_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3560/3369140104_c59448ebdf_b.jpg

[DigitalNinja]

They've got the majority of the facade up now are are working on the inside. Should look great when it's finished, I hope they start on the next building right after this one.

[Dmajackson]

They've got the majority of the facade up now are are working on the inside. Should look great when it's finished, I hope they start on the next building right after this one.

Welcome DigitalNinja. Looking forward to your input. :)

And thanks for the update. I was starting to think I was the only one paying attention to this building.

[Jonovision]

What building comes after this one?

[Dmajackson]

What building comes after this one?

The campus plan doesn't say esactly but these are the short-term projects according to their website;

Short-term Initiatives (0-10 years)
Projects in this category are already being considered by the University and in preliminary planning stages, address community concerns or create a symbolic image for the campus.

Open Space Network - The University can begin to implement many aspects of the Open Space vision even before adjacent and surrounding buildings are
developed.
Buildings:
New Arena (NE-4) to replace the existing, deteriorating Alumni Arena;
An Atrium (C-1) and Global Commons to provide missing or inadequate facilities;
McNally Arrival Courtyards: to reduce the visual impact of parking and access routes;
Study Pavilion (C-5) and improvements to the rear of McNally: to address aesthetic issues with this area of the Campus and quickly add common space;
Gateway Building (NW-1): to provide parking and enhance the Northwest corner of the campus; and
The Library – improvements should be considered at the same time as the construction of the Atrium.
Smaller, “pocket” parking lots throughout the campus to replace lost parking.

[DigitalNinja]

I was hoping it would be the replacement of the Burke building. That building is absolutely horrible to study in. And ugly as well. It would have been smart to build both the Atrium and the new Burke building at the same time as they are connected.

[Dmajackson]

As always photos by me today;

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2479/3642466972_c0aff5e411_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3408/3642466980_833e65de23_b.jpg

[Barrington south]

I was hoping it would be the replacement of the Burke building. That building is absolutely horrible to study in. And ugly as well. It would have been smart to build both the Atrium and the new Burke building at the same time as they are connected.

if Smu tore down The Burke before the Atrium was complete wouldn't that mean there would be even less study space to work in?
and I was under the impassion that Smu was desperately short of study space. This way once the atrium is built, the students will have that shiny new study space, and then the focus can shift to that eyesore ....
the Burke building....
also....
prez Dodds has financial limitations....one thing at once....unless he seriously ups his head hunting missions to china!!!

[DigitalNinja]

Lol true that.

And yeah there is a low amount of study space, but the arena is next on the list, they have a sign up now saying that it's going to be built.

[Barrington south]

ohhh so finish the atrium,
then the arena....
and maybe the burke then?..I should call collin and ask him...
havn't spoke to him in a little while now..

Hey Dig when did you go to SMU?..

.I also noticed a sigh up from the future wellness center.Iis that part of the arena?....
that will be a major asset

ohhh I just checked the SMU master plan....the Burke will not be touched untill 2017....at the very eairliest....there will be a new study pavillion before that though

[DigitalNinja]

I go right now, and that sign was the one I was referring to. I think it's for the arena though... Cause they have the tower for the gym.

[Barrington south]

I'll check it out tomorow....
I pretty sure it mentioned some sort of new wellness center along with the arena
Tomorow I will write down everything on the sign on my daily walk and then post it....what are the conditons of the current arena inside Dig....
is it run down?...is there very much seating?

[DigitalNinja]

It's gross from the outside, never been in haha.

[BravoZulu]

Its been a few years since I was at SMU, but that rink was pretty run down even then. Water used to drip from the ceiling and then freeze on the ice surface in little raised brownish lumps. IIRC they repaired the roof a few years ago.

As for the rest, it is just an older rink and could use an updating, not the best I have ever played in, but by far not the worst (devonshire arena, still had chainlink fencing instead of plexiglass) lol

[Barrington south]

the sign say's...future site of the center for health and welness....

then it says in brackets, in smaller writing....

.including the tower and Dauphinee rink.....l
last time I only glanced at the top writing, and assumed there would be a new wellness center, but it turns out that they are just building an arena, getting rid of all the asphalt, landscaping around the two, and calling it a center combined...so you where right, but the sign was a little misleading

[Dmajackson]

I'm guessing its safe to assume that this building is complete now?

[City_of_Lakes]

I'm guessing its safe to assume that this building is complete now?

I am living in res at SMU, and therefore walk by this multiple times per day. On the outside, it appears to be done, but as far as inside goes, can't say. It's not open yet so I'm assuming there's still work to be done inside.

[worldlyhaligonian]

I'm guessing its safe to assume that this building is complete now?

Put it in the complete projects section anyway... all of these tiny projects really make it hard to see the bigger picture.

[worldlyhaligonian]

Its been a few years since I was at SMU, but that rink was pretty run down even then. Water used to drip from the ceiling and then freeze on the ice surface in little raised brownish lumps. IIRC they repaired the roof a few years ago.

As for the rest, it is just an older rink and could use an updating, not the best I have ever played in, but by far not the worst (devonshire arena, still had chainlink fencing instead of plexiglass) lol

The chainlink was crazy... practice used to be like playing in some crazy mad max or sci fi sporting event.

[Dmajackson]

Put it in the complete projects section anyway... all of these tiny projects really make it hard to see the bigger picture.

I will. To me its been done for months really ...

[City_of_Lakes]

okay, it is done now. opened today i believe

[Dmajackson]

Breath of fresh air
SMU’s living wall looks great but it’s enhanced air quality that students, visitors will notice
By BILL SPURR Features Writer
Tue. Oct 6 - 4:45 AM

FROM A DISTANCE, it looks like a really ambitious mural. But up close, the newly installed living wall at Saint Mary’s University is, well, alive.

Three storeys of plants, more than a thousand of them, are in Atlantic Canada’s first living wall, part of SMU’s new $17.5-million Atrium, a connector building that links the university’s library to several other academic buildings.

Work on the Atrium started a year and a half ago, and the construction crew putting on the finishing touches does its work in front of a steady stream of students.

"If you go up close enough, you can actually hear the water going down and you can see the water droplets," said Caitlin Dix, the student rep on SMU’s sustainability committee.

"There’s water running the whole time, it goes all the way down and then back up through a system, and back down again. They’re constantly being watered at their roots."

The 14 species of plants, all from Florida because there aren’t any native plants that stay in leaf all year round, were installed over a week in September. The project is scheduled to be completed within the next couple of weeks and the wall, while esthetically pleasing, is more importantly something of an air improvement marvel.

"About 19,000 cubic feet of air per minute is going through that wall, back down to our general ventilation system, then it’s shot back up into the area, so it just keeps circulating around," said Gary Schmeisser, director of facilities management for Saint Mary’s. "We pull air through the plants into ducts, then heat or cool it, mix a little bit of outdoor fresh air in, then put it back into the area."

The process increases the rate at which carbon dioxide, breathed out by humans, is converted to oxygen. So, no longer can stuffy air be used as an excuse for getting drowsy in the library.

"We have to bring in less air from the outside, so during the winter we heat less air and during the summer we cool less, so our energy costs should go down. It’s a new thing, so we haven’t found out how much yet," Schmeisser said.

He promised the difference in air quality will be noticeable.

Dix, a graduate student with a BA in environmental studies, said the university had students on the committee struck to oversee design of the Atrium, appropriate given the interest in the environment by young people.

"Our generation has grown up with ‘be sustainable, recycle.’ It’s really instilled into our brains now. So we see a living wall, we think ‘Oh, a living wall. Yeah, it should be there.’ And for students studying it, they can see and touch the actual application," she said. "The students have been pushing for sustainability, for the big things on campus to be more sustainable, with the green roof that’s also happening. I’m not sure that every student understands exactly what a bio-wall is yet, but they understand that it’s something that’s helping us towards our sustainability goals."

Saint Mary’s has been looking at ways to be kinder to the earth since at least 1971, when a grass roof was planted on the newly completed library. One benefit of a grass roof is that it retains rain water so there isn’t as much runoff into storm sewers. But decades of mowing that roof led to hope of a better way, and now a SMU biologist is developing plants to be installed next spring on the roof of the Atrium. The new roof, divided into 16 sections, will be open to visitors.

"You don’t want to worry about weeding, about mowing," Schmeisser said. "It doesn’t dry up in the summer, or die in the winter."

( bspurr@herald.ca )

[City_of_Lakes]

I'll grab some pictures of this tomorrow. It's really cool!

[Dmajackson]

Since I was in the area I shot a completed photo for this project;

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4060/4628002333_b452b734fe_b.jpg