UTM's Maanjiwe nendamowinan wins prestigious design award

U of T Mississauga’s newest building has been recognized with an international award for design.

On Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) announced that the Perkins and Will-designed project had won a 2019 IIDA Global Excellence award in the education category. The annual juried design competition recognizes originality and creativity in interior design and architecture projects across 15 categories.

“We are excited to be showcasing this year’s competition winners, who are truly representative of design excellence around the world,” says IIDA Executive Vice President and CEO Cheryl Durst. “The projects chosen are as distinctive as they are thoughtfully-designed, demonstrating unique spatial intelligence, flexibility, and beauty.”

The Toronto-based Perkins and Will Ontario team celebrated the win on social media. “Our team was tasked with creating spaces that are ‘always active, never empty.’ The driving theme behind the design is the convergence of an array of students and academic disciplines. Connecting students and faculty to each other, and to their spectacular natural setting became the project’s critical design challenge.”

Maanjiwe nendamowinan marks the fifth project designed by Perkins and Will for the UTM campus. The six-storey, 210,000-square-foot building replaced the original North Building to complete the renaissance of the northern portion of campus. It features an airy, six-storey atrium and event space, 40,000 square feet of new classroom space and more than 500 new study spaces, as well as office space for humanities and social sciences departments. In keeping with UTM’s commitment to sustainability, the building has also achieved LEED Silver designation through environmental innovations such as rainwater recycling, energy-efficient mechanical systems and green roof spaces.

“We are delighted to see the design of Maanjiwe nendamowninan recognized internationally,” says Tammy Cook, executive director of Facilities Management and Planning. “It is a beautiful building, with state-of-the-art active learning classrooms, innovative sustainability features and exceptional spaces for learning and working.”

The university opened Maanjiwe nendamowinan in November 2019 with a ceremony celebrating the official name, which was chosen in collaboration with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Maanjiwe nendamowinan (pronounced Mahn-ji-way nen-da-mow-in-ahn) is a formally endorsed Anishinaabemowin name meaning “gathering of minds” and acknowledges both the Indigenous history of the land and the future of the campus.

Maanjiwe nendamowinan is the third building on the UTM campus to be recognized by the IIDA. In 2008, the Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre was recognized for innovation in sustainable design category for interior design in libraries. In 2012, the Instructional Centre won in the cultural, institutional and educational projects. All three projects were designed by Perkins and Will.

Winners of the 2019 IIDA competition will be honoured at a reception in Paris, France in January 2020.