Building Tour: Centre for Aerospace and Aviation

Join us on our next stop in the TSA Building Tours lineup—the Downsview Campus Centre for Aerospace and Aviation!✈️

Get ready for take off, because our August building tour is just around the corner. Join us for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the recently completed Centennial College’s Downsview Campus Centre for Aerospace and Aviation.

An award winning adaptive reuse project designed by MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects Ltd. (MJMA), in association with Stantec Architecture Ltd., this new educational facility repurposes and unifies a series of existing structures on a site that was once Canada’s epicentre of aviation design and manufacturing. The complex includes two hangars, classrooms, admin offices, a library, and learning and fabrication spaces that include avionics, electronics, engines, and composite labs, and group study and collaborative zones. The new facility establishes a museum of artifacts with a collection drawn from the site’s storied past and exhibits conveying the history of Canadian aviation.

Tour Guides

Tim Roy, Chairperson, Aerospace/Aviation, Centennial College

Steve Hoffman, Avionics Professor, Centennial College

Jamie Milks, Program Coordinator and Professor, Centennial College

Robert Allen, Partner, MJMA

Timothy Belanger, Partner, MJMA

Sean Solowski, Architect, MJMA

Stephen Phillips, Senior Vice President & Business Leader, Buildings, Stantec

TSA Member Priority Access

This tour is free for TSA members using the promo code found in the latest bulletin. TSA members also receive early access to tickets on July 26 at 9:00 AM. Spots remaining will then be made available to the public on August 9 at 9:00 AM. Not a member yet? You can join the TSA and get access to free and exclusive member programming and discounts by registering online using this link.

About the Building

Located on the grounds of Downsview Airport, this adaptive reuse houses the Aviation and Engineering Technology & Applied Science program at Centennial College’s Downsview campus on a site that was once Canada’s epicentre of aviation design and manufacturing. The project draws on the site’s layered heritage in various ways, engaging visitors in its history while encouraging new generations of students to pursue innovation in the aviation and aerospace sectors. New program spaces have been ‘curated’ into the existing fabric, allowing for the unique characteristics of the existing structure to affect program placement. Comprehensive environmental graphics throughout demonstrate the special features of the site and interweave its history into the daily life of the facility. The new campus also includes a museum to display site artifacts and convey information about the history of Canadian aviation to the public.

The institution’s spaces for student activity are designed to achieve a range of experience types and a mix of privacy and openness that enriches the student experience on campus. The public spaces aim to connect students not only with one another, but also with the Aerospace program and the essence of the building; they have been designed with optimal views into the primary hangar, as well as into the labs and teaching spaces, connecting students to and furthering interest in the campus’s program offerings.

Learn more about this project.

About the TSA Building Tours

Designed for architects by architects, the TSA Building Tours offer unique behind-the-scenes access to recently completed or under construction buildings across the GTA. Led by the team behind their design, these tours provide an opportunity to hear the stories behind the architecture and learn about the challenges and successes in ideating and realizing the vision for the building.

TSA Building Tours are made possible thanks to the generous support of STEIN + REGENCY.