Moving closer to realizing a dream

It was smiles all around Tuesday when Laurentian University received $21 million toward the construction of its school of architecture from the province, and received approval for its architecture program, which will make the school eligible for operating funding.

For those people who have walked the journey of making the school a reality, who have dared to dream, put their ideas forward and champion them, the news is a tremendous shot in the arm.

The vision for the school is simple: the community will create the school and Laurentian University will operate the program.

As stated in a 2008 feasibility study, the school “signals the coming of age of northern Ontario. It speaks of an ambition to enrich our culture, with a sustainable vision of our own.”

Its visionaries say the school will make a major contribution to the economic development of the north by:

- Stimulating the quality of urban and community development

- Promoting cultural development through the design of buildings and public spaces

- Bringing a pool of design skill and building expertise to the industrial sector

- Strengthening the design culture that is essential to making local products more competitive in the global market

- Boosting the value-added industries with designs suited to the region and regional materials
- Building on Greater Sudbury’s reputation for environmental sustainability, and

- Creating the first school of architecture outside of Quebec that supports study in French.

Just who will come to this school, which is expected to be fully functioning by 2018?

There is an “unacceptable shortage of seats in Canadian architecture schools” and, according to notes in the same study, Ontario has fewer than 300 places in schools of architecture for the annual 2,400 applicants.

The folks applying for the 400 or so spots will need to have an 80 per cent average, strong mathematical and writing skills, and strong evidence of creativity. It is said the number of architects retiring from the profession exceeds the number of graduates, and the existing schools of architecture cannot expand to accommodate this demand.

As Greater Sudbury moves forward in developing its knowledge-based economy, this school will become a powerful engine.

Imagine, our city can be the go-to spot for architecture students who frequently find themselves applying their skills in related fields, from game design and advertising to urban planning. Our city needs more of these creative people. Investing in their education is boon to us all.

This community project is at a critical juncture. It is riding a peak of good news, but there will be valleys to skillfully navigate. Those who question the school’s proposed location (downtown), balk at the work required to bring the downtown in line with the school’s needs.

But the effort is worth it if one considers the impact that roughly 400-plus students can have — energetic students who will occupy the building 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. The school’s promoters say the students’ presence will:

- Increase the downtown population of people after 5 p.m.

- Provide “eyes on the street”

- Increase the need to reconnect rail lines to a Toronto public transit route

- Create a unique environment for both incubating local business and promoting global tourism, and

- Enhance the community’s priority to augment downtown housing.
Laurentian University president Dominic Giroux recently said he is “thrilled, but realistic about the work ahead.”

The recent provincial funding announcement is indeed a tremendous shot in the arm. But our collective sleeves need to stay rolled up as we muscle through the challenges that await.