Prospective students and visitors will soon have a new and highly improved first impression of York’s Glendon campus, when the proposed breezeway redevelopment is finished this fall. Projected for completion for the start of the fall term, the ground-level space below York Hall’s B-Wing will be enclosed, providing a whole new area which will be used as common space for the Glendon community.
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| Above: An artist’s rendition of the new breezeway project at Glendon |
A committee composed of Glendon students, faculty and the administration has been meeting regularly with Taylor Smyth Architects, a Toronto-based architectural firm responsible for the design. The committee worked closely with the architects to devise an open, multifunctional space on a human scale.
The new wing won’t be just a pretty face. For the first time since it opened its doors to students 40 years ago as a York Faculty (previously, it was York’s main campus), Glendon will at last have a Welcome Centre directly connected to the main entrance. The Welcome Centre will make it easy for visitors to find their way around and get directions to locations and services on the Glendon campus. The enclosed space will also house a student lounge.
Professor Rafael Gomez, Chair of Glendon’s Economics Department, is a member of the redevelopment committee. He speaks of the project with great enthusiasm. “The integral connection between the outside Glendon gates and the interior of the campus will finally be fully realized," says Gomez. “An open-air café, tables, comfortable seating areas, public meeting rooms and the new visitors’ centre will all be housed in the re-designed breezeway area.” Liaison and recruitment services, closely related to welcoming visitors, will also find their new home in the breezeway.
Construction is expected to start within the next few weeks.
This article was submitted to YFile by Glendon communications officer Marika Kemeny.