HDR was tasked with designing the Learning Crossroads at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Canada.

The University of Ottawa is the largest French-English bilingual university in the world. The University’s mission is to improve the accessibility and quality of post-secondary education while simultaneously bringing together cultures, languages and diverse perspectives that drive new ideas. The addition of the Learning Centre building to the Ottawa campus supports the university’s overarching mission by promoting modern teaching methods, providing improved student services, and fostering connectivity, flexibility and adaptability through design.

Notable Elements Include:

• A welcoming building façade and an open, mostly public ground floor space create a community hub and places for students to come together.
• A central atrium connects all six, above ground stories of the Learning Centre and a clerestory infuses collaborative spaces and offices with natural light.
• Glazed atrium walls assure that spaces remain quiet for focused study; while providing visual connection to the public floors below.
• Lower floors and the basement feature high-tech, flexible teaching spaces, study suites, multimedia studios, BYOD Zone, Gaming Lounge and collaboration spaces to support active student learning.
• Upper floors include case based rooms, classrooms and “the Study V2.0”.
• Exterior solar-oriented glazing maximizes transparency and contributes to achieving the university’s standards for sustainability.
• Two vertical service cores are strategically positioned to optimize the distribution of high-tech infrastructure while leaving the center and corners of the building open and accessible.

Architect: HDR
Photography: Doublespace Photography, Janice Chung