York University has officially broken ground on its new $85 million engineering building, which will be home to the Lassonde School of Engineering.

To open in 2015, the 169,000-square-foot, five-storey building will accommodate the electrical, civil and mechanical engineering disciplines. Design workshops, project areas, classrooms and laboratories will be included in the space. There will also be social and public areas for students to mix with faculty members and researchers.

“We’re creating a home for what we call ‘renaissance engineers,’ not a pristine academic palace with gleaming lecture theatres,” says Lassonde School of Engineering dean, Janusz Kozinski. “Students will be writing on walls, building robots, brainstorming business plans, and huddling in project groups. This building won’t create great ideas but it will give our students a home to do just that.”

Designed by ZAS Architects + Interiors, the building will reflect the school’s commitment to redefining engineering education. Conceived as a cloud, it will hover over a landscape that combines artificial and natural landscape features. A prominent feature of the landscape, a rock inspired by the geology of Georgian Bay, will provide a roof over design workshops and project areas. In contrast to laboratory spaces that support rigorous engineering research, the project areas will accommodate activities for creative design and production.