inFuture Projects | Dominican University College

Type_ Academic - M.Arch Studio

Host_Carleton University

Year_2015

brief

To expand and consolidate the campus of the Dominican University College in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
To create a "highly specific and rarified place, as well as a respectful campus that expands the DUC as a public institution."
To maintain the DUC's privacy as a place of worship and scholarship.
To add 25,000+ sq.ft. of program, including: classrooms, auditorium, computer lab, cafeteria, library expansion, and rare books.

DOMINICAN UNIVERSITY COLLEGE [a brief context]

The Dominican University College (DUC) sits adjacent to downtown Ottawa, residing in Chinatown and perched atop an escarpment overlooking the new Lebreton Flats development to the west. The DUC’s courtyard typology and large adjacent garden make it distinct in relation to the surrounding housing.

The existing three-storey building contains a church, multiple classrooms, a refectory, a tightly-packed library, administration, and housing for the Domincan brothers. The DUC’s walled garden contains a multitude of tall, old-growth trees, creating privacy and shade for the outdoor space. The DUC’s circulation path takes the form of a traditional cloister, a single-loaded corridor with a courtyard on one side and rooms on the other.

Courtyard
Church
Library
Chapter room
Cloister circulation
Refectory
Garden

PROPOSALS

The two proposals displayed below show different approaches to the adaptive-reuse of the DUC. The first proposal takes inspiration from the DUC's interior cloister circulation path and its courtyard building typology; the proposal is an extension which completes a double-courtyard. The proposal's new courtyard building forms a "quad space" and preserves the garden below by only touching the ground with long pilotis. A new entryway for the existing library and additional storage is added to the empty lot on the west side of the DUC.

The second proposal is also inspired by the existing cloister circulation; a proposed winding pathway was developed as a continuation of this theme. The new proposal identifies as a connected, yet separate piece of the ongoing development of the DUC. Anticipating a space for events, the new classroom space can operate at separate times and after hours than the intimate nature of the monastery. The proposal also includes a glazed roof over the DUC's courtyard, creating all-season spaces for study and work.