Issue link: https://publications.tfs.ca/i/1530003
6 • La Campagne Pour TFS DESIGN Notes Craig Goodman Principal Architect, CS&P Principal architect Craig Goodman of CS&P Architecture knows this, which is why he is blending functionality and community-centred design in the new West Campus Athletic Wing. Goodman's CS&P Architecture is the firm behind the design of the West Campus Athletic Wing, which will bring together a faculty office, new classroom, more changeroom and washroom facilities and a regulation- sized gymnasium. This award- winning firm of experts is known across the public and private sectors for designs that maximize social interaction and utility. Goodman and his team had just designed the new Athletics Complex at the University of Windsor when TFS approached them to design its multiple capital projects. As Goodman says, insights from the firm's work with the University of Windsor inspired their approach to the architectural programs at both TFS campuses. "The University of Windsor taught us a lot," said Goodman. "TFS was very similar in that we needed to merge many different siloed activities into one combined interactive space." That design challenge made it essential for Goodman and his team to create designs for each campus that would maximize the available footprint — which created a logistics puzzle for the team at the West Campus because the property is surrounded by parkland. To solve the puzzle, Goodman and the team applied true design thinking by asking: What kind of a gymnasium does West Campus actually need? "'A gymnasium is a gymnasium,' you might think," explains Goodman. "But it actually has very specific play area guidelines for competitive activities depending on the level of sport — basketball in particular. We could barely fit the largest proposed basketball court on site." Goodman created many versions of the design because he needed to build a form that would fulfill a higher purpose. "This project wasn't just about an elementary school gym," Goodman explained. "It was really about the building's interaction with its community and how to make a space that could be shared with neighbours and alumni." TFS didn't just want a bigger basketball court. It wanted a space for community life. Goodman also recognizes that not everyone wants to come together in the same way. Just like a parent may choose to stand apart from their kids at a neighbourhood playground so their children can feel more independent, Goodman believes school gathering spaces also need peripheral areas so parents, faculty and students can participate at a distance. That's why the new West Campus gymnasium's viewing gallery and In ancient Greek culture, a gymnasium was about much more than physical training. It not only shaped bodies but also cultivated minds and communities because it was a place where students could gather and hear lectures on philosophy, literature, and music. Modern school gymnasiums are similar.