The architects who designed two recent additions to the UTM landscape have been honored with awards at the annual Mississauga Urban Design Awards. At a ceremony held at the Mississauga Civic Centre, the architectural firms that planned the Phase Six of residence building received an award of excellence, while the firms that created the Student Centre received a special Millennium Design Icon Award. A total of nine Design Icon awards were awarded to the various design firms that have helped to brighten the city, including City Hall and the Dupont Corporate Centre on Mississauga Road. While everyone agrees that these awards are an excellent boost for both the university and the campus itself, the reality is that the student centre is not being used to its full potential. Currently home to ECSU, SAC, and the Medium, the centre is also used for club events and general student usage, but a lot of space is still not being filled.
Plans are underway to help make the building more appealing to students.
The building is great in itself, but we just have to learn to make better use of it, said Principal Robert McNutt. ECSU president Preena Chauhan, who attended the Urban Design Awards to represent the full-time undergraduate students, agreed, saying that although traffic has picked up, there is still room for improvement, beginning with the pub. If the pub was at the back of the building and the front for common space, then the pub would function like a pub. I think there is a confusion as to what that space is really intended for and there needs to be a clear distinction between the pub and the rest of the building, she said. Plans for interior revamping are also in the works, and include everything from new furniture and paint to more technological and full-scale innovations.