COIL Campus

The recent expansion of Newfoundland’s offshore oil industry has created the need for both new residential developments and office space in the greater St. John’s area. The corporate campus proposal is an experience-focused workplace where working and living are intertwined. It is also transit oriented and walkable. In the context of the town of Paradise, the campus provides a buffer zone between industrial and residential areas and establishes a boundary for the preservation of existing wetlands.

To preserve and enhance the natural environment, the campus is carefully positioned. The site is divided by a brook and wetland, so a buffer zone on both sides of this wetland was created to act as a barrier between the natural wetland habitat and any future development. Campus buildings are also sited along existing lines of contours, which eliminate the need for large scale excavation of the site.

Steep, heavily treed areas and the adjacent wetland areas are left completely in their natural states. Most of the buildings are kept long and narrow, and oriented East-West when possible for ventilation and natural day lighting. Circulation on campus links up with an existing walking/biking path network that winds through Paradise and the City of St. John’s.

Design Team:  Chris Woodford, Taryn Sheppard