Situated on its Welland Campus, the Niagara College Applied Health Institute (AHI) Expansion is a transformative project that advances the College’s leadership in applied health education. Together with a generous new pedestrian plaza and canopy colonnade, the expansion bridges the setback between the existing AHI and the nearby regional road, creating a bold new gateway to the suburban site. The building massing comprises two, two-storey blocks: one angled to mirror the existing AHI building, and the other aligned with the north-south street grid, resolving the alignments of the existing site. A two-storey link extends out from this second block to connect the new structure with the old. Together, they form a new landscaped courtyard.

Program spaces are thoughtfully distributed across the two blocks. These spaces include a 40-chair dental clinic, dental labs, VR suite, general use classrooms, pharmacy labs, paramedic labs and multipurpose bookable clinic space. Nestled between the two blocks on the ground floor are activation spaces – flexible soft spaces that support a variety of social and break out activities. Among them, overlooking the courtyard, are a community hub and coffee shop. Just beyond the hub, at the heart of the building, a feature stair rises through an open atrium to the second level, creating moments of connection between people and programs.

The expansion is designed to meet the CaGBC Zero Carbon Building Standard v4, with mass timber construction supporting low embodied carbon and efficient assembly. Its material palette reinterprets the original AHI’s red brick through weathered steel and burn-brushed cedar siding, creating a bold and yet sensitive statement.