en.Wedoany.com Reported - In Welland, Ontario, the Niagara College Applied Health Institute expansion is under construction. This mass timber addition will serve as a community hub, addressing enrollment growth in healthcare programs such as nursing, paramedicine, personal support work, dental hygiene, and pharmacy.
Designed by Montgomery Sisam Architects, the 75,000-square-foot building will feature a new entrance, pedestrian plaza, courtyard, and atrium. The massing consists of two two-story volumes: one angled to align with the existing building, and the other oriented to the north-south street grid. A two-story connector extends from the second volume to link the new and old structures, together forming a new landscaped courtyard.
The new space will include a 40-chair dental clinic, dental lab, VR suite, general classrooms, pharmacy lab, paramedicine lab, and a multi-purpose bookable clinic space. The ground floor between the two volumes features "activation spaces" designed to promote social and rest activities, including a community center and coffee shop overlooking the courtyard. At the heart of the building is a feature staircase that ascends through the open atrium to the second floor.
To meet workforce demands, the project is being delivered on an accelerated timeline. The mass timber expansion is pursuing Zero Carbon Building Standard V4 and Rick Hansen Foundation certification. An innovative design-assist partnership with timber supplier Nordic Structures streamlines coordination between design and manufacturing, supporting schedule certainty and construction efficiency. The expansion is designed to meet CaGBC's Zero Carbon Building Standard V4, with the mass timber structure helping to reduce embodied carbon. The design also incorporates weathering steel and shou sugi ban cedar siding. Phase one is scheduled to open in fall 2027.
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