©Montgomery Sisam

WELLAND, ONT. — Currently under construction in Welland, Ont., the Niagara College Applied Health Institute (AHI) Expansion aims to create a community hub that responds to rising enrolment in health care programs such as nursing, paramedicine, personal support work, dental hygiene and pharmacy. The 75,000-square-foot purpose-built mass timber addition was designed by Montgomery Sisam Architects and will feature a new entrance, pedestrian plaza, courtyard and atrium. …At the heart of the building, a feature stair rises through an open atrium to the second level. “Delivered on an accelerated schedule in response to urgent workforce needs, the mass timber expansion is pursuing Zero Carbon Building and Rick Hansen Foundation certifications,” the release adds. “An innovative design-assist partnership with timber supplier Nordic Structures also helped streamline co-ordination between design and fabrication, supporting both schedule certainty and construction efficiency.”