COMPUTER SCIENCE AND
ENGINEERING BUILDING,
YORK UNIVERSITY

architectsAlliance’s first project with York University was the test case for York University’s new ‘green’ design agenda. As the first green building in Ontario, it demonstrated for the first time that a sustainable approach could succeed in a cold climate.

Undergraduate and graduate labs, classrooms, offices, and a 950-seat lecture hall complex are housed in a highly functional, flexible building that provides a transparent, animated and welcoming presence on Campus Walk, the University’s main pedestrian thoroughfare.

Every aspect of the building minimizes environmental impact: a highly efficient passive ventilation system, organized around ‘thermal chimneys’ and a bamboo-planted atrium; recyclable and low embodied energy materials; sun-shading devices on the south and west façades; and an extensive planted roof.

With energy consumption at 50% below conventionally built equivalents, the CSEB is a resounding success. The project, which aA completed with Busby Perkins + Will, has received international recognition in the design and popular press.

YORK UNIVERSITY
TORONTO, CANADA
2001
$17.5 MILLION
9,420 m2