York's McEwen building - a structure made for humans

Described by the Toronto Star as “a rare architectural feat”, the new addition to the Schulich School of Business at York University, the McEwen Graduate Studies and Research Building, was designed and created with one priority: high comfort for the students and staff who study and work there.

“Our buildings are concerned with human well-being,” Barry Sampson of Baird Sampson Neuert Architects says. “And it’s a priority for our firm to contribute to stopping global warming. In this building, the two enhance one another.” Transsolar worked with Baird Sampson Neuert during the design process. The architectural concept hinges on a social gathering space which is the hub of the new building and links back to Schulich’s existing building. The climate concept integrates this space by using it as a driver for all ventilation – natural ventilation is pulled through the building by a solar chimney above the atrium, while mechanical ventilation also passes through the atrium and the lower portion of the chimney. The chimney also serves an architectural beacon for the new building. Other priorities during the design process were natural light, acoustics, and fostering positive human connections.

Read more > At "The Star"
Picture by Baird Sampson Neuert Architects