Laurentian School of Architecture prepares for new construction

The director of the Laurentian University School of Architecture says phase two of construction on the downtown school will start next month.

Terrance Galvin said there will be two new wings extending from the existing buildings along Elm and Elgin streets.

A courtyard for the public will be at the crook of the L-shape.

Galvin said a study was conducted into the sound and vibration from the nearby rail yard. The former Market Square building, within which the school is currently housed, has had some updates to withstand the noise from the trains.

For phase one, actually, it's been zero problem, Galvin said. So when we're in there talking to students or lecturing and a train goes by, with the new skin on the building and thicker glass, there's been absolutely no disturbance by sound.

Laurentian's Board of Governors approved funding of almost $24 million for phase two.

Construction is expected to take a year-and-a-half.

Galvin said the two wings will be very dramatic and modern, and it will have a steel structure.

It will be clad in panels of glass and a kind-of frosted glass material and another more shimmery panel, which picks up on the colours of the north, kind of an ice blue, and will look great in winter, as well as in summer, he said.