Durham College’s Centre for Food (CFF) has won second place in the prestigious Canadian Design-Build Institute (CDBI) Awards of Excellence, making it the second-best design-build project in all of Canada for 2014. The college received the award during the CDBI National Conference held in Victoria, British Columbia from October 15 to 17.

CDBI, the national voice of design-build practitioners in Canada, presents the awards annually to recognize excellence in Canada’s design-build industry and acknowledge design-build teams whose projects contribute to the growth and stature of the design-build profession.

Inspired by the college’s commitment to bring field-to-fork education and practice to the Durham Region, the vision brings locally-sourced, quality produce from field to table at  the 36,000-sq.-ft. CFF that officially opened in October 2013. Accommodating approximately 900 students studying in culinary, hospitality, event management, food science and agriculture and horticulture programs, it houses Bistro ’67, a 70-seat, full-service, green-certified teaching-inspired restaurant and Pantry, a unique retail food store that brings student-created goods straight from the culinary classroom to the community.

The CFF was brought from concept to reality by a team that included DC; Garritano Bros Limited and Gow Hastings Architects.

“Durham College is honoured to be awarded second place in such a prestigious competition,” said Don Lovisa, president, Durham College. “From concept to execution, the CFF is a blend of creativity and innovation in both the design and build aspects of the facility. It truly demonstrates our vision of the field-to-fork concept in a post-secondary setting, as well as our efforts in sustainability and social responsibility.”

From both a construction and design perspective highlights of the CFF include:

• A main atrium that draws users into the heart of the building with a two-storey living wall, serving as a central meeting place and venue for events and celebrations.
• Interior windows that provide glimpses into the labs, encouraging exploration and establishing a dynamic energy within the building.
• Steel and glass foldable partitions on either side of the atrium that allow a wine tasting lab and bake lab the flexibility to open up onto the central atrium to accommodate larger events.
• An audio visual system inside Bistro’67 that allows  diners to see their food being prepared and fins in the exterior glazed wall  that provide seating niches within this double-height space.
• Kitchen labs that offer interactive teaching platforms to enable students to observe and practice their skills in real time and state-of-the-art systems and equipment that allow students to learn how to prepare all kinds of cuisine.
• Culinary labs that open up to the main atrium in order to serve large functions and display the activities within on a daily basis. This includes high-performance surface materials in working spaces including stainless steel, hygienic wall coverings, safety flooring and ceramic tile.

“Each year the Canadian Design-Build Institute recognizes the best design-build projects in all of Canada,” said Steve Garritano, vice-president, Sales, Garritano. “As the design-builder for Durham College’s Centre for Food, I find it to be an exceptional privilege and honour to have been considered amongst the best in all of Canada for this award.”

Project submissions were evaluated primarily on the success achieved in attaining the owner/user’s project goals, as well as their success in implementing design-build best practices, with special emphasis placed on the design team’s use of innovation. The term innovation included the use of new systems; methods and processes that were cost effective; speedy; and safe while using technology to execute projects. The design quality of each project was also reviewed with aesthetics, functionality and life cycle being key considerations. Award recipients demonstrate the highest standards and principles in the design-build industry and the business community in pursuit of excellence.

“We feel very privileged to be the recipients of a CDBI Award of Excellence for the Durham College Centre for Food,” said Philip Hastings, partner at Gow Hastings Architects. “It was a pleasure to work alongside Durham College and Garritano Brothers Ltd. to develop a new approach to culinary education and translate the process of making a meal from field-to-fork into a living and breathing building. We are excited to see this building merge and grow within the surrounding agricultural landscape and local economy and serve as a showcase for sustainable technologies and innovation.”

In addition to receiving the CDBI Award of Excellence, the college also launched Field to Fork: Sowing the Seeds of our Community, a crowdfunding campaign, in support of the CFF in August 2014. The campaign is designed to support the landscaping required at the centre including the planting of trees, shrubs, fruits, vegetables and arboretum; the purchase of garden tools; a walking path; new soil; and more. To find out more, please visit http://fieldtofork.durhamcollege.ca.