Building Features & Highlights

A new home for Trent Durham's growing community of scholars

Trent University's Board of Governors has officially approved plans to move forward with the construction of a new Trent Durham residence and academic building for completion in fall 2020. This bright, contemporary six-story building will feature distinctive architectural details, including:

• Continuing in the long-standing Trent tradition of collegiate communities, the building will fully integrate both living and learning spaces, creating an environment for students, faculty and staff to connect and learn from one another;
• The addition of 200 on-campus residence spaces means future students will be able to live on campus and experience all that Trent Durham has to offer 24/7 – each floor of residence space will feature common rooms with a kitchenette and on-site laundry;
• State-of-the-art academic spaces will feature prominently in the new space, including a 100-seat tiered lecture hall and two 64-seat classrooms, bringing the Trent Durham academic experience to the next level;
• Group study spaces for students to creatively engage with and learn from one another through group work, case studies, and discussion-based learning;
• Expanded hands-on learning spaces for faculty and students to conduct research in new and innovative ways, including laboratories built for interdisciplinary discoveries and office space for conducting research;
• Public forum space to celebrate the rich community culture on campus for events, common meeting space, and engaging social space;
• Central outdoor green courtyard – a vibrant outdoor space for all members of the community to enjoy, this might just be your favourite spot to catch up with friends, have a snack and study, or just enjoy the sunshine and fresh air.
• Expanded parking to accommodate our growing campus will also be featured in the plans…and it’s still free!
• A convenient pathway and link to the current Trent Durham building which, itself, will see expanded dining facilities 

Location

Trent University Durham GTA is conveniently located at 55 Thornton Road South, less than five minutes from Highway 401 and the Oshawa Go Station. The new residence and academic building will be constructed next to the current campus, on a piece of currently vacant property facing Thornton Road, next to the Oshawa Recreation Centre, providing enhanced visibility for Trent in the community.

The new building will have an east to west orientation on the property, running end-to-end from Thornton Road toward the existing campus building. Positioned to maximize natural lighting, sunlight through large windows wrapping the first two floors of the building will bring natural energy to academic spaces. Residence rooms will look out north and south, facing the courtyard – a beautiful green space featuring trees and plenty of room for the entire community to come together and connect outdoors.

View the project site map.