By SCOTT HUNTER HADDOW
Even though there are still cranes on site and people diligently working on the $44-million Advanced Technology and Academic Centre (ATAC), one can only marvel at the infusion of technology and learning the building will bring.
When ATAC is completed it will be a state-of-the-art facility capable of transitioning in the future to accommodate changing technology and trends, says Fred Gilbert, president of Lakehead University.
“The future of this university and its ability to grow and develop are all linked to ATAC,” says Gilbert.
The new building will be approximately 9,117 square metres and will create 1,377 spaces for students and 63 offices for faculty and staff.
ATAC is expected to attract an additional 1,400 students to the university.
“ATAC meets the needs of all our students in all our program areas. It will help attract and retain students at this university.”
ATAC will house various advanced technology applications in the areas of engineering, mathematics and computer science. The addition of smart classrooms, videoconferencing facilities, multimedia production and teaching services and GIS labs will ensure Lakehead is on the cutting edge of modern technology and modern formats of presenting material to students.
“Modern education requires the students to have access to modern technologies,” says Gilbert. “High school kids coming in now are extremely technology literate. If you can’t accommodate their learning spectrum, I don’t think you are servicing their needs.”
Even the design of the building is state-of-the-art and was selected from a number of proposals in the form of a competition.
“One of the strengths of the architect selected was his design of buildings that make use of energy in a cost-effective way,” says Gilbert.
The building will be energy efficient, making use of modern mechanical systems.
“The cost of operation for this building for heating and cooling will be somewhere in the range of 20 to 40 per cent less than a conventional building,” says Gilbert.
Lakehead University has also forged partnerships with several high- profile companies. Sony of Canada Ltd. will provide data projection equipment, audio enhancement, videoconferencing, Web casting and Web storage for the university’s smart classrooms. The model of this type of educational format will be called e-Education.
“The intent, for example with Sony, is we will be their e-Education Canadian model and be a research site for their new technologies,” says Gilbert.
Lakehead University has also formed partnerships with IBM Canada Ltd., Bell Canada and Nortel Networks to name a few.
“They will provide hardware and software. Primarily the agreements are designed to allow us to be a training and research test site with these partners.”
Bell Canada and Nortel Networks will provide the communications infrastructure for the building. As a result of the union, Lakehead University will receive the largest installation of voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP) telephony in North America. The new network includes 2,100 Internet Protocol phones and completely integrates Lakehead’s voice and data information into one common network.
“This building will evolve in its technology as technology itself evolves. The intention is we will continue to evolve the technology as new opportunities come on line with our partners,” says Gilbert.
Construction of ATAC has slowed somewhat due to a proposed sixth floor addition for the Northern Ontario Medical School. The Northern Ontario Medical School will have the sixth floor at ATAC, plus a proposed six-story adjacent building as its centre of operations,” says Gilbert.
The proposed six-story building still requires final confirmation from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.
“The medical school adds an additional dimension to the university. It is medical education. Down the road as the faculty becomes engaged in their research activities, it will strengthen the research going on at the university,” says Gilbert.
