Modified Anderson Hall Model

The initial precinct plan conceptually developed after this report was for a Research Park facilitating the Life Sciences Building. Now known as the Centre for Behavioral Neuroscience (CCBN), this was the first construction project devised after the modified Anderson Hall model as applied to a laboratory research building.

The report also argues some of the deficiencies of advancing plans around a strict Anderson Hall model, thus generating a modified Anderson Hall model to plan by (pp. 1.2):

  1. It's (Anderson Hall) isolation from other buildings disconnects its internal pedestrain routes from the developing east-west pedestrian spine of the campus which has recently been augmented by the new L.I.N.C. (University Library) building. Access to the new library facility (from AH) is indirect and external despite the harsh winter climate experienced by the campus for most of the academic year.
  2. The heavy metal clad fascias of its facade together with its simplistic footprint impart an inappropriate industrial character to the campus which is unsympathetic to the highly distinctive off form Stage 1 buildings.
  3. The box gutters behind fascias entrap snow rather than shed it quickly, leading to water penetration.
  4. Its 30 metre width with 4 rows of columns creates a large internal area without access to natural light and multiple parallel corridors which pose difficulties for building user comprehension.
  5. Its large scale and unbroken facades provide no identity for the various facilities which it accommodates.

Figures above (taken from page 3.3 of the MPR): Prototypical building planning based on a modified Anderson Hall model executed en masse across campus in various configurations to provide interconnected academic, lab and other research buildings at low relative cost up high on the plateau. The Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) became the first example of this isolated development approach.