Design of the times: architecture school opens in Sudbury.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay
• Position: NEWS

"It's not about being big; it's about thinking big."

With those words from Laurentian University president Dominic Giroux, Laurentian Architecture Laurentienne (LAL) opened its doors Sept. 4 to a throng of well-wishers and dignitaries eager to tour the new facility. The first cohort of 70 students, and its complement of faculty and staff, was set to start class last month.

Phase one of the Sudbury-based school--the first school of architecture to be established in Canada in 40 years--incorporates the city's former farmers' market and an old Canadian Pacific Railway telegraph building dating back to the early 1900s.

The school was designed by Levitt Goodman Architects of Toronto and constructed by Cy Rheault Construction of Timmins.

The meeting of past and future has been a recurring theme throughout the project's development; Laurentian was originally located downtown--a mere block from the architecture school's current location.

"Who would have thought we would be here opening a new school of architecture in downtown Sudbury after securing the unanimous support of the existing 11 Canadian schools of architecture, thanks to Mr. Blaine Nicholls, as well as $41 million from the three levels of government?" Giroux said.

Contributions included $10 million from the City of Greater Sudbury, $26 million from the province and $5 million from FedNor.

To recognize Nicholls, a driving force behind the project and the steering committee's chair, Giroux announced Laurentian would bestow him with an honorary doctorate at a future convocation ceremony.

Even Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne brought a little piece of history to the ceremony. Fred Rounthwaite, the father of her partner, Jane Rounthwaite, was one of the original architects who worked on Laurentian University, she revealed.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Wynne spoke of the architecture school as a "living laboratory" where students would explore their dreams while designing infrastructure for Northern communities and preserving their Northern heritage by focusing on First Nations designs, working with an elder-in-residence and taking courses in French.

The premier expressed her hope that the students' school experience would lead them to rewarding jobs and great opportunities in the North.

"I want you to be able to do what you love, pursue your interest and show off your skills without leaving the part of the province that means so much to you, if that's what you choose to do," she said. "And I want you...