CE01 - Opening Plenary

CE01 - Plenary: Academic Buildings as Catalysts for

 

Innovation With Welcome Remarks and Land Acknowledgement
5/13/2026|PLENARY|STRUCTURED
1.75 ConEd Learning Hours|8:30a.m.-10:15a.m.

York University’s Markham Campus demonstrates how architecture can drive collaboration, innovation, and inclusion. Designed as a vertical campus, the project brings a collection of different programs together into a 10-storey building, supporting new pedagogies through interconnected spaces and work zones. This session will explore how the design creates an animated crossroads of learning, inquiry, and student engagement that supports the changing academic landscape, and activates the community.

Learning Objectives
1. Examine the evolving model of academic architecture.
2. Examine how campus design can support different ways of learning.
3. Explore how design can bridge the gap between academia and community.
4. Assess how architecture can support a developing civic
identity.

Don Schmitt, OAA, NSAA, AAPEI, AAA, MAA, AIBC, NWTAA, AANB, AIA, SAA, FRAIC
Principal, Diamond Schmitt

To learn more about this session's speaker(s), click here

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