Senator O’Connor College School

Kearns Mancini’s design for this project knits together existing school buildings, an existing seminary (formerly Senator Frank O’Connor’s original home and estate) and the suburban fabric of parks and roads that surround the site.

Kearns Mancini was originally retained by the TCDSB to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study that would provide a development strategy for replacing the existing Senator O’Connor High School. After finishing the feasibility study, Kearns Mancini was again retained to design plans for the new school.

The resulting project was a multi-year, 23 million dollar complex with phased construction. The facility was designed to be capable of accommodating and adapting to the changing needs of the students, the educators and the local community.

grey container

Location

Toronto, Ontario

Gross Project Area

150,000 sq. ft.

Client

Toronto District Catholic School Board

Status

Completed, 2005

Project Value

$23.4 Million

Project Team

Jonathan Kearns, Dan McNeil, Peter Ng, Lucy O’Connor. Photography: Steven Evans

Photography

Steven Evans

Comprehensive 3D modelling played a critical role in the project’s early stages of the project and continued to give Kearns Mancini and the client opportunities to explore various finishes, forms and spatial layouts in full detail. The new state of the art facility is capable of accommodating and adapting to the changing needs of the students, the educators and the local community. One of the focuses of the design of the school is the transition of classroom and common spaces on the ground floor towards the outside.

Senator O’Connor College School - Senator_OConnor_College_School_2

View from park

Senator O’Connor College School - Senator_OConnor_College_School_3

Senator O’Connor College School - Senator_OConnor_College_School_4

Senator O’Connor College School - Senator_OConnor_College_School_5

Senator O’Connor College School - Senator_OConnor_College_School_6

Senator O’Connor College School - Senator_OConnor_College_School_7

Senator O’Connor College School - Senator_OConnor_College_School_8

Senator O’Connor College School - senator-oconnor-slide

Jonathan Kearns is worth his weight in gold in terms of his ability to deal with the community. In our case, this meant dealing with four distinct groups representing the four streets that surround the school. He did a brilliant job of addressing the concerns of each group - even though, for the most part a different group came out to each of the public meetings. One has only to meet Jonathan to understand why his unique blend of intelligence, calm and empathy enables him to defuse fear so that people are then free to see the solutions he proposes with objectivity and fairness.

John Dean

Senator O'Connor College School

Other Projects

Centre For Hospitality And Culinary Arts & The Chefs’ House Restaurant

The George Brown College Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts & the Chefs’ House Restaurant demonstrate Kearns Mancini Architects’ ability to deliver buildings that delight with natural light, colour, and transparency, representing a brand-statement for our clients.

Highcastle Public School

Kearns Mancini's proposal for the Highcastle Public School sought to incorporate and renovate an existing two-storey west wing of over-sized classrooms into a more efficient space, while also adding an additional building with new classrooms and communal spaces.

Kennedy Public School

Kearns Mancini's renovation of and addition to the Kennedy Public School involved a complex level of integration between the existing school and new spaces, resulting in a design that embraced natural light, transparency and the sensitive integration of colour, which effectively marry the old and the new.

Pleasant Public School Kindergarten Addition

Kearns Mancini’s design for the addition to Pleasant Public School in Toronto, Ontario, was one which responded to the need of a single storey, one room addition that would accommodate a full day kindergarten expansion.

View All