Renowned developer and Carleton architecture graduate David Azrieli joins Gulzar Haider, director of the school of architecture, in a sod-turning ceremony July 19, marking the construction of the $17-million David J. Azrieli Pavilion. (Photo: Mike Pinder)
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Ceremonial shovels broke ground on July 19 at the official sod-turning for the David J. Azrieli Pavilion.
The new teaching and research facility was made possible by a $2.7-million donation from Montreal developer David Azrieli, MArch/97, plus $14.3 million in matching provincial and federal funds. Construction is scheduled for completion by fall 2002.
The 75,000-square-foot pavilion will be home to the newly named David Azrieli Institute for Graduate Studies in Architecture, as well as the Azrieli Gallery, a space dedicated to showcasing architecture and allied arts. Azrieli's donation will also be used to create a permanent endowment to provide enhancements and special features for the graduate program in architecture.
"David's contribution to this building is helping to build a legacy that will shape the future of graduate education in the school of architecture, and of design in Canada," says Cindy Boucher, vice-president (advancement).
The building will also house a joint information technology program with Algonquin College, to be launched in September 2003, and the National Capital Institute for Telecommunications, a research consortium of facilities across the region exploring the latest telecommunications technologies. Students will have access to four large lecture halls, classrooms, specialized computer laboratories and workrooms, teaching studios and seminar rooms.
"I am thrilled and excited to participate in the education of architects," says Azrieli, who at the age of 73 decided to fulfill a life-long dream by returning to school. He graduated from Carleton with honours in 1997 with a master's degree in architecture.
Azrieli has spent more than half a century as a designer and architect in the Mid-dle East, the United States and Canada, creating stunning skyscrapers, office towers and shopping malls. He is renowned in Israel for some of the Middle East's largest developments, including the Azrieli Center -- Tel Aviv's 3.4-million-square-foot commercial complex, which opened in 1998. His work as a designer and developer has earned Azrieli a number of prestigious honours, including the Order of Canada, the Order of Quebec, the State of Israel Jubilee Award and honorary degrees from universities around the world.
Gulzar Haider, director of the school of architecture, says, "I have heard him [Azrieli] say that he would like to make universities aware of the importance of inspired architecture as a necessity for learning. This mission, more than anything else, makes us very proud to imagine that our graduate school will carry his name in perpetuity."
