On March 1, creative co-working space Steel City Studio threw a grand reopening celebration to mark the completion of its expansion and renovation. The changes, which began last November, brought better workflow to the space and will allow the studio to grow as a business.
The studio is now 2,000 feet larger than it once was. When the second floor unit beside the studio became available, cofounders Nadine Ubl and Jennifer Donaldson jumped on the chance to increase their square footage. By knocking down the walls between these two units, Steel City Studio now enjoys a brighter and more open space.
Beyond expanding, the renovation involved refinishing the oak flooring on the second floor, replacing the front door with a glass door, changing the tile at the front of the studio, adding a double glass door at the entrance and bringing the wiring up to code. It was important to Ubl and Donaldson to stay within the existing layout and maintain the charm of the 120-year-old building.
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The most significant updates involved making the space more environmentally friendly. The old windows facing east and south were replaced by more efficient windows. Wherever they changed the light fixtures, they also changed the light bulbs from halogen to LED to decrease their power draw.
“[P]art of what we do is keeping in mind [the] environmental component. So by sharing a lot of resources, it means that we can sort of lessen our environmental impact,” Ubl explained.
The studio has become green in more ways than one. The most impressive part of the renovation is the moss wall and ceiling on the second floor. The greenery was done by Greenteriors, one of the businesses that uses space at Steel City Studio. While designed to absorb acoustics in the new open floor plan, the moss also serves to inspire the makers and benefit their health. It is also a sign of new beginnings.
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To celebrate these new beginnings, the studio hosted an event to share the refreshed space with the community. They filled the space with artwork by the Hamilton Female Artists Collective and provided snacks, a cash bar and live acoustic music by musician Murray Thiessen.
They also announced the winner of their Spring Start-up Contest. The contest, which was ran through their socials, was open to creative entrepreneurs, artists and small businesses. They then invited the nominated makers to share their vision and tour the studio. The lucky winners were awarded two months of free studio space.
“[W]e hear a lot that people want to gain access to the studio, but they're not really sure how to go about starting or, financially, they're not sure if they can make that commitment. So the point in this contest was to give someone the opportunity to get started in the space for a couple of months and help them to grow their business so that they can sustain staying in the studio,” Ubl said.
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Helping small creative businesses grow is the main goal of Steel City Studio. Not only does the studio offer space on a membership basis, it also provides flourishing businesses with business knowledge and supplies. An example of this is the six-week program, Open Co-tivation, which kicks off on March 12 and is designed to help entrepreneurs keep one another accountable.
In addition to these programs, the studio hosts various workshops, such as the upcoming Screenprinting Basics on March 16. And on March 30, the business will be hosting its seasonal Open Studio, which allows members of the community to check out the studio as well as meet and buy from makers.
Expanding the space will allow the studio to further meet its mandate and grow its influence in the city. There is a definite benefit to being able to work with, support and seek advice from other makers. The studio wants to continue to cater to individuals who are just starting creative endeavours.
“I think what we hope to be is that next step for people that are transitioning into either work in a creative field or into their own business…. [T]hey had everything at their fingertips while they were at school and then when they go to leave it's like ‘okay and now I'm doing this from home, how do I do that?’ So we definitely want to solidify that a little bit,” said Ubl.
Steel City Studio occupies a unique niche in Hamilton by bridging the gap between the maker and start-up cultures. By expanding its space, the studio has more room for Hamilton’s small creative businesses to grow in.
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After a busy summer, the McMaster University Student Centre renovations are finally complete.
Construction began on May 2, and primarily focused on the Mills Plaza entrance as well as the North Quad stairs. The west wing of MUSC expanded further into Mills Plaza and converted from a corridor to a lounge.
The main purpose of the renovations was to increase seating in MUSC in addition to reducing traffic congestion around these two areas. The renovations were slated to add about 125 seats to MUSC, most of which are concentrated in the lounge built in front of the Starbucks in MUSC.
They also added another staircase leading to the Arts Quad meant to reduce congestion in that area.
The projected cost of the renovations was about $1.5 million, which were covered by excess MUSC reserves.
When MUSC was first built, the MSU collected a small fee from students to pay the mortgage over time, and the sudden influx of students following the elimination of the OAC year in 2003 caused a surplus which was transferred to MUSC and placed in a capital fund.
Student reactions to the new space have largely been positive. The new lounge in front of Starbucks is particularly popular with students due to its open-air concept and comfortable seating.
“I think this is going to make MUSC an easier place to hang out, especially during exams. There was so much empty space before and this is a lot more student-friendly,” said Dev Shields, a third-year English and Cultural Studies student.
The new renovations have come just in time for the new generation of McMaster students, who are enjoying their new home base.
“I really like the MUSC, it’s great aesthetically, there’s a lot of great spots for students to meet up or wind down,” said Megh Rathod, a first-year Integrated Sciences student.
Some students have their reservations about the layout of MUSC, though.
“The new student centre is really aesthetically pleasing but the changes also seem really inconvenient for some people. I feel the traffic will really increase because of the extra space for people to meet up and sell textbooks. It also feels like certain practices will have to change such as tabling for clubs during Clubs and during the year,” pointed out Cindy Lam, a fourth-year Social Work student.
“I enjoy the reconstruction of the space, however, the layout and design of the furniture are not up to my standards,” said Susie Ellis, a third-year Communications and Multimedia student.
The main complaint is towards the colour scheme chosen for the booth and couches, which are currently blue and orange, respectively.
Overall, the new renovations bode well for improving student life on campus, as well as improving campus traffic and revitalise the atmosphere in MUSC.
Located on the fifth floor of Mills Library, the McMaster Institute for Innovation and Excellence in Teaching and Learning has just completed a renovation project for its offices.
Accessed by the rear-facing elevator doors and separated from the rest of the library, MIIETL feels tucked away, relatively undisturbed. But the renovations have really modernized the look and feel of the office space, and will allow MIIETL to better accommodate a potential increase in traffic from the McMaster population.
Formerly known as the Centre for Leadership in Learning, MIIETL is responsible for online initiatives at McMaster University, whether it's Avenue to Learn or a number of new blended online learning courses. But with a full-time staff of over 30 and numerous other part-time students and researchers, that's only a small part of what they do, explained Teaching and Learning Director Arshad Ahmad.
"In simple language, we help teachers to improve," he said. "We are partners with faculty, with staff, with students; whoever is in the business of teaching and learning and wants to improve, we're there to support them."
"Our business is helping people, to improve teaching, but also collecting evidence and doing research on teaching - in partnership," he emphasized.
With more of MIIETL's work being directed towards research on effective teaching and learning, the goal is for the redesign to allow more space for new students and researchers who will be working in collaboration with the institute. However, the renovations haven't expanded out of the occupied area; rather, it's given the offices a level of privacy that wasn't afforded by the cubicle-like walls before. In addition, sound that used to bleed from the inner classroom has now been minimized, and it can now accommodate up to 100 students.
Kris Knorr, the Research Coordinator at MIIETL, was principally involved with the summer renovations and commented that they looked at both open and closed designs, before ultimately deciding on a more private space.
Said Knorr, "it was part of [Ahmad's] vision to help alleviate [the noise and privacy issue] and help to create some new space for the growing capacity of MIIETL, and for the new work that we were going to be endeavoring with.
The growing collaboration with students is a sentiment that was echoed by both Knorr and Ahmad.
Knorr explained, "It's important for us to make sure that we have student partnership and a student voice in the work that we do."
With the renovation completed on time for its Sept. 1 deadline, MIIETL is planning on unveiling its new office space in time for November.
