Saint Mary's

Design Principles

• View the Oaks property and the southwest quadrant of the campus as one contiguous area and link it visually and physically with outdoor spaces and buildings.
• Seize opportunities to expand existing buildings to take advantage of indoor connections to the rest of the Campus.
• Through the design of interfaces with the rest of the campus and compelling green spaces, tie the Oaks into the life of the Campus.
• Design new buildings to carefully integrate with the natural environment.
• Preserve areas of the Oaks property in its natural state and provide pedestrian access for the campus community to respectfully enjoy the site.
• Preserve the Oaks Mansion and its architectural integrity.
• Support the Urban Greenway project with connections to the Atlantic School of Theology, Robie Street and Gorsebrook Avenue.
• Introduce additional landscaping at the southeast corner in front of the Rice Residence.
• Fill the gap between the Tower and the Rice Residence to link the Tower to the rest of the campus.
• Create a north-south pedestrian route through the Vanier Residence from Gorsebrook Avenue, past the south-west corner of the Field, to McNally and the Student Centre.

Residence Terrace (OS9)

The residence terrace located to the east of the Loyola Residence and south of the proposed C-6 building is intended for use by campus residents. The Residence terrace incorporates flexible and fixed seating and lawn and gardens areas to provide locations for campus residents to study, relax or meet with friends in a quiet passive setting.

New Residence (S-1)

This building should not exceed 6 storeys in height and could include a new daycare on the ground floor, taking advantage of the Children's Garden proposed south of this building as a relatively quiet area of the campus.

Children's Garden (OS10)

The Children's Garden provides an outdoor amenity space for children adjacent to the proposed daycare.

Loyola Extension (S-2 & OS11)

An extension of the Loyola building is proposed to replace the house known as 5907 Gorsebrook Avenue, currently hosting External Affairs. This 4-5 storey building could contain a variety of academic, office or research uses with the key advantage of a direct connection to other buildings on campus.

Sobey South Building (S-3)

The proposed Sobey South Building is a 4-5 storey building linked to the Sobey Building by a highly transparent overhead pedway.

Sobey West Building Addition (S-4)

This building provides additional expansion space for the Sobey Building. It should be designed so as not to overwhelm the pedestrian realm on Robie Street and provide a clearer pedestrian access to the Sobey Building from Robie Street. The building should have a transparent façade design on the ground floor.

Sobey Building Parking Lot

A pocket surface parking lot of about 60 spaces will be created to the west of the Sobey Building and will partially replace parking spaces lost from the removal of the Gorsebrook parking lot. The parking lot should provide a visually attractive face to Robie Street. It will be important to retain as many of the existing trees as possible between the new lot and the Sobey building. Special consideration will be provided to ensure sufficient buffering between this parking area and adjacent private residential properties on Robie Street. Consideration should be given to berming, tree planting and low level landscape treatments that shield views to parked cars.

The Oaks Mansion, Addition and "Stanfield Garden" (S-5 & OS12)

The Stanfield Mansion should be completely restored and used for prestige University uses such as a research institute and/or event space. An addition to the Mansion designed as a glass conservatory or a "winter garden" for special events would open onto a restored open space north of the house called the "Stanfield Garden".

The Urban Greenway

The Urban Greenway is proposed to traverse the Oaks Property from west to east, terminating at a new pedestrian and cycling bridge over the rail tracks. New trails should be created to link the Greenway to the remainder of the Campus.

Oaks Complex (S-6 & OS13)

The Oaks provides prime space for premium uses that do not generate large traffic volumes and can benefit from a unique location in a natural setting. It is therefore proposed that the main building to be erected on the Oaks property be considered for research uses, with opportunities for conference uses, and be limited in height to 2-4 storeys so as not to substantially exceed the tree canopy.

The S-6 building will be adequately set back and buffered with landscaping from adjacent private properties. Views to the site from surrounding areas will maintain the sense of the site as a heavily wooded area. Construction practices in this area will require special provision for tree-preservation.

3D View of the South Campus and Oaks Property seen from the south. Proposed buildings are shown in white and existing buildings in grey

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