GEORGE BROWN COLLEGE CENTRE FOR HOSPITALITY AND CULINARY ARTS

The three storey, in-fill addition and interior renovation of the George Brown Chef School on Toronto’s Adelaide Street East dramatically opens and transforms a 1980s building into a showcase for innovation in culinary education. The project enables the college to expand its food and hospitality programs by as much as 50% to attract and retain the best faculty and students while augmenting the school’s presence within the city by initiating a recognizable campus landmark. The project required an architectural team capable of handling a highly complex, laboratory oriented brief for a post-secondary institute. Renovation, retrofit and addition work in such an urban setting meant the organization of space was paramount, particularly to accommodate the needs of the faculty. Establishing a new identity and presence for the College was the primary design motivation for the firm.

The three storey addition re-houses kitchens, classrooms and ancillary spaces. George Brown’s student chefs are visible in a culinary performance through a two-storey glass façade that exposes four kitchen labs to the street. These street level views into the interiors of the kitchen labs provide the ultimate branding tool for the college. When the culinary school is closed, horizontal strips of coloured glass ensure that the façade provides an interesting counterpoint to the austere visual landscape of predominantly historic masonry buildings along Adelaide Street. From the interior, the glazing provides views down Frederick Street towards the school’s newly created learning restaurant, the Chefs’ House, visually connecting the two buildings.