Durham College, Centre for Collaborative Education (CFCE), Oshawa Campus

Durham College’s Centre for Collaborative Education (CFCE) holds the honor of being the first building on the Oshawa, Ontario campus to achieve LEED® Gold certification through the Canada Green Building Council, reflecting the college’s commitment to sustainability, wellness and academic engagement. Designed by Montgomery Sisam Architects working jointly with the Architecture Council, the CFCE serves more than 30,000 students within its multi-level, 75,000-square-foot facility. Fostering connections within the campus and surrounding community, the CFCE’s transparent exterior showcases outdoor views and indoor natural light.

Rockfon acoustic stone wool ceilings provide a smooth white surface that maximizes light reflectance, provide good sound absorption, support indoor air quality and present a clean, modern aesthetic.

“The Centre for Collaborative Education prioritizes the student experience in all aspects of its design and function,” noted Durham College’s president, Don Lovisa, “When students told us they wanted more collaborative learning and social spaces, we listened. There are very few offices in the CFCE. Instead, it holds industry-grade, cutting-edge labs, entrepreneurial and maker spaces, touchdown spaces and inclusive learning environments all focused on ensuring the student experience comes first."

More than 40,000 square feet of Rockfon’s ceiling systems were installed throughout the CFCE. Rockfon Tropic® acoustic stone wool ceiling panels were specified for the bright learning spaces, convertible social spaces, formal classrooms, student services, offices and laboratories.

To provide the acoustic experience needed for successful virtual and in-person discussions and debate, Rockfon Tropic stone wool ceiling panels were selected for the Global Classroom. Rockfon Tropic achieves a Noise Reduction Coefficient of up 0.85 NRC for high sound absorption.

The ceiling panels were installed in layered rows at sloped angles to further optimize acoustics and enhance speech intelligibility.

Corridors and common areas throughout the CFCE are purposefully designed as informal study and social spaces with Rockfon Tropic acoustic ceiling systems suspended above in grid and cloud forms. The same sound-absorbing Rockfon Tropic ceiling panels also were installed in the CFCE’s Spa and Patient-Care Laboratories.

Stone wool and metal are hydrophobic materials, meaning that they do not absorb water, a helpful feature given Oshawa’s average annual rainfall of more than 27 inches. Stone wool and metal not only resist moisture, they also do not support the growth of mold, mildew, bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms. In addition, Rockfon Tropic and Chicago Metallic Tempra products provide excellent fire performance and are easy to clean without harsh chemicals. Contributing to indoor air quality and healthy interiors, acoustic stone wool ceiling panels from Rockfon are UL® GREENGUARD® Gold Certified for low-VOC emissions in office and education environments.

All of Rockfon ceiling panels on the CFCE are made from stone wool, which blends naturally occurring, volcanic basalt rock and recycled content. The 2-by-4-foot stone wool ceiling panels are installed in Chicago Metallic® 4000 Tempra™ 9/16-inch exposed grid ceiling suspension system, which also is manufactured with recycled content and is 100% recyclable at the end of its useful life on a building.