Fanshawe Innovation Village south exterior. Photo credit: Tom Arban Photography Inc.The Innovation Village at Fanshawe College is a new collaborative space that aims to cater to the different ways people learn.Designed by Diamond Schmitt with associate architect Philip Agar Architect and opened last year, the 126,828-square-foot facility aims to transform and expand the colleges core, and creates a new campus hub that brings students, professors and professionals together.Fanshawe Innovation Village north exterior. Photo credit: Tom Arban Photography Inc.Student and Indigenous engagement has informed the buildings design, establishing a learning environment that supports diverse programming. Innovation Village also puts a focus on sustainability, and is enveloped in a custom BIPV cladding that provides on-site renewable energy that powers the building.Fanshawe Innovation Village west exterior. Photo credit: Tom Arban Photography Inc.The new Innovation Village responds to the changing pedagogies of the 21st century, said Sydney Browne, principal at Diamond Schmitt. Designed to support a culture of active and experiential learning, the facility prioritizes a diversity of spaces that can be adapted for multiple users across faculties and encourage impromptu cross-disciplinary collaborations and interactions. Environmental sustainability has also been an area of emphasis, with the Innovation Village wrapped in an envelope of custom BIPV that further expresses the facilitys focus on innovation.Fanshawe Innovation Village west exterior. Photo credit: Tom Arban Photography Inc.The Innovation Village is located at the centre of Fanshawes London campus, and brings together spaces that were previously disconnected to create a new heart for the college.The design, which draws on the incubator space model, reflects the colleges academic approach, which is focused on experiential learning. It also caters to the various ways people learn, and offers a variety of adaptable spaces that range from silent study zones to open work/study areas, homework labs to multi-use event and presentation spaces.Fanshawe Innovation Village Canada Life Village Square. Photo credit: Tom Arban Photography Inc.It is a place where all students have access to technology, including maker spaces, an augmented reality and virtual reality lab, multimedia labs, and Leap Junction, a centre for all things entrepreneurship.At the core of Innovation Village is the Canada Life Village Square, which is a full-height multipurpose agora that is positioned at the crossroads of the campuss major corridors. This central forum can be used for guest lectures or pitch presentations, as an exhibition space, classroom, study space, or student lounge.Fanshawe Innovation Village Forwell Hall. Photo credit: Tom Arban Photography Inc.The Square has multiple access points that open towards the buildings interior. Clerestory openings above the main atrium space allow light to penetrate the interior. Circulation spaces are also animated by open lounge areas that create additional opportunities for connections.The two-storey Forwell Hall, a major event space run by the Fanshawe Student Union, can be used for tradeshows, fashion shows, or as a student lounge. The Hall, which opens to courtyards to the north and south, offers throughviews and is characterized by a two-storey curtain wall system supported by wood glulam columns.Indigenous engagement has been a key component in the overall design development of the Innovation Village, and was led by the colleges advisor in Indigenous education and development, Guy Williams, from the Nlakapamux Nation.Fanshawe Innovation Village corridor. Photo credit: Tom Arban Photography Inc.A new Library Learning Commons aims to demonstrate the colleges commitment to inclusivity, and support for its more than 400 Indigenous students. It is home to the Kalihwyo Circle (Kalihwyo is from the Oneida (Onyotaa:ka) language meaning good message) the Indigenous Spirit Assembly that introduces Indigenous presence into the built fabric of the campus. Its circular formation also creates a feeling of safety and trust, as well as encourages the sharing of culture. Respecting the four cardinal directions, the Kalihwyo Circle has direct access to a large adjacent courtyard.Anchored by a terrazzo floor petal motif that represents the 28 days and ceiling motif that represents the 13 moons of the Lunar calendar, it is protected by a turtle-shell ceiling which references the creation of Turtle Island, and can host Indigenous workshops, exhibitions, and smudging ceremonies.Fanshawe Innovation Village Kalihwyo Circle. Photo credit: Tom Arban Photography Inc.Kalihwyo Circle has been an important foundation for the design of Innovation Village and the establishment of an atmosphere of connectivity, and the extension of the Indigenous spirit, throughout the project. Illustrations by Indigenous artist Hawlii Pichette who is Mushkego Cree (Treaty 9) and of urban mixed ancestry, are the basis of the graphic language of patterning that is used throughout.Raw natural materials, such as wood, and the exposure of the buildings steel and concrete structures, aim to capture a new energy for the college. A large timber glulam canopy at the main entrance, and south courtyard, aims to create a welcoming approach. Its seven pillars reference the seven Indigenous teachings and the seven job skills of the future outlined by the college.On the exterior, the Innovation Villages addition is wrapped in a custom Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) cladding system which uses a nanotechnology surface treatment that allows for a coloured surface. It has minimal reflectance that optimizes solar transmittance and energy capture by the PV panels behind this glass. This technology allows for a blue hue that changes tones with the weather and angle of view, and contributes an on-site renewable energy source.The post Fanshawe Colleges Innovation Village aims to create new kind of campus hub appeared first on Canadian Architect.