Auburn Academy/Capital projects

This page contains information about ongoing and planned capital projects being undertaken by Auburn Academy.

Planned and ongoing projects

Arbor House redevelopment

Arbor House (ABH), which served as the residence and dining hall for Junior Programmes, was vacated upon the completion of Harmony Hall (HAR). Its location in the Woods Neighbourhood makes it an ideal candidate for redevelopment to house the Music Library. Arbor House will become Arbor Hall once renovated in the collegiate gothic style and will be connected to the Arts Forum via a tunnel. Moving the Music Library into Arbor Hall will open up a significant amount of space in the Music Centre (MSC) for renovation into much-needed additional practice and rehearsal rooms and offices.

0% complete

Dormitory renovations

The four original residence halls — North, East, South, and West Halls — will undergo renovations consisting of complete basement excavations to provide additional space for support programmes and residential amenities.

0% complete

Field House

The Academy will construct the Field House (FDH) south of the Academy Stadium (SDM) to provide space for additional locker and trainer rooms and areas for athletic administration and operations.

0% complete

Observatory

Auburn Academy will construct an off-site observatory on the plateau south of Community Hall (CMH) which will be used for Academy coursework, research, and outreach programmes.

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Memorial Hall

Memorial Hall (MMH) will be a new multipurpose building on the corner of Academy Drive and Vulpine Way housing various administrative units and a childcare centre for faculty and staff.

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Music Centre reconfiguration

The top floor of the Music Centre (MSC) currently houses the Music Library. Once the library moves into its new home in the redeveloped Arbor Hall, this space will be reconfigured into practice rooms, small rehearsal spaces, and faculty offices. Step-free access will also be added to the building in the course of this project.

President's House

The official residence for the President of the Academy will be constructed at the end of the peninsula in the northwest part of Auburn.

0% complete

Room numbering review

Auburn Academy currently uses four-character room numbers in all of its buildings, with the first character indicating the floor, the second delineating the wing or portion of the building, and the last two identifying individual rooms. This system works better in larger or more complex buildings where the wing designation is helpful; in smaller and simpler buildings, the room number becomes needlessly lengthy. But even in the buildings where a wing designation provides informational value, using an arbitrary digit makes first-time navigation challenging.

This project will renumber rooms in all Academy buildings to be more user-friendly. Buildings which would benefit from shorter, three-digit room numbers will be renumbered accordingly, and buildings that continue to benefit from a more specific numbering scheme will have the wing designation character replaced with a more logical character, such as a cardinal direction. Additionally, all spaces, including toilets, corridors, and common areas, will be given numbers to streamline maintenance operations.

5% complete

Step-free access scheme

Various efforts are currently underway to provide step-free access to all Academy buildings, many of which were not constructed with accessibility in mind. Improvements range from new lifts to stairwell reconfigurations to access ramps. Assets flagged for renovations to provide step-free access include:

• Academy Garden: lift (complete)
• Alumni House (ALM): exterior path reconfiguration (complete)
• Central Library (LIB): new entrance (complete)
• Engineering Centre (EGC): access ramp (complete)
• Gymnasium (GYM): access ramp (complete)
• Laboratory Sciences Centre (LSC): access ramp (complete)
• Mathematics Building (MAB): access ramp (complete)
• Mental Health Centre (MHC): exterior path reconfiguration (complete)
• Music Centre (MUS): stairwell reconfiguration and lift installation
• Peninsula Hall (PNH): new step-free access path
• Science Centre (SCC): access ramp (complete)
• Student Leadership Building (SLB): access ramp (complete)
• Visual Art Centre (VAC): stairwell reconfiguration and lift installation
• World Languages Building (WLB): stairwell reconfiguration and lift installation

72% complete

Completed projects

Projects completed from mid-2023 onwards are listed here.

Building name and code review

Several buildings on the Academy grounds had names or building codes that could cause ambiguity with the departments or units which occupied them. All Academy buildings were reviewed for such cases, with several structures receiving new names or codes.

Changes that were made include:

• Centre for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) became Peninsula Hall (PNH)
• The Engineering Centre (EGR) was given the new code EGC
• The English Building (ENG) was given the new code ENB
• The Mathematics Building (MAT) was given the new code MAB
• The Music Centre (MUS) was given the new code MSC
• The Science Centre (SCI) was given the new code SCC
• The World Languages Building (LAN) was given the new code WLB

Additionally, the Department of Social Sciences (SSC) will receive a new department code of SSH to differentiate it from the Social Science Centre, which will retain its building code of SSC.

Central Library expansion

This project greatly expanded the basement level (level G) of the Central Library building (LIB) to span the entire footprint of the building. The expansion provides additional space for the Rare Books and Special Collections unit of the Auburn Academy Library, including locked stacks, a viewing room, classrooms, and a preservation suite. Level G also contains a new suite for the Library administration. The current administrative suite on level 1 has been converted into a café.

As part of this project, Vulpine Way was regraded to allow the addition of a new entrance to the building on level G. This entrance brings full step-free access to the Central Library building. The existing level 1 entrance off Academy Drive was closed, with the circulation area repurposed into offices for the Academy Librarian and Deputy Academy Librarian. A new circulation desk was added adjacent to the new Vulpine Way entrance.

Fox Hall renovation

With the completion of Harmony Hall (HAR), Fox (FOX) Hall (formerly the Primary and Intermediate School Building) underwent renovation to become additional dormitory space for the Preparatory School. The new residence hall houses third- and fourth-years from all four houses.