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“We are serious about environmental sustainability

as an organization, and are excited about the

benefits of using wood,” says Dr. Stephenson.
“Mass timber, which is composed of a mix of

wood strips laminated together to form strong
structural components, can substantially reduce

greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector.

It reduces wastage, pollution and costs associated
with construction, and creates a more aesthetically

pleasing and healthy built environment. There are
other colleges and universities in Ontario with

predominantly mass timber structures in various

stages of planning, design and construction but, to
our knowledge, Centennial College was the first to

actually start building with mass timber on campus.”

“This is the kind of inspired thinking we

want to imbue in our students.”
Dr. Craig Stephenson, President and CEO

“TWO-EYED SEEING” an Indigenous lens and a Western lens,” says Dr.

Stephenson. “The two perspectives amplify each
In collaboration with EllisDon, DIALOG and Smoke other. For example, the aluminum cladding on the

Architecture, Centennial selected a design based building was detailed with contemporary parametric

on the Indigenous concept of “Two-eyed Seeing.” software to replicate the way a fish’s scales move
The building will embody the college’s view on over its body, shifting independently yet forming a

sustainability, inclusivity and Indigeneity as wholly single skin. It’s incredibly functional, yet also quite

interconnected, says Dr. Stephenson. “We wanted magical.”
to create a learning space that demonstrates the

importance of that tripartite relationship.” Indigenous perspectives inspired the core design
narratives. “Built on the shared territories of the

“The Indigenous concept of Two-eyed Seeing Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples, we

empowered our architectural team to explore the reintroduce teachings from this territory, reinforcing
ideas of zero carbon and mass timber through both relationships with the land and all our relations,”

JULY 2022 | BUSINESS ELITE CANADA 45