The port campus opened in September. Photo: NSCAD

NSCAD opens campus on Halifax waterfront

Port location hosts sculpture and ceramics programs

NSCAD University expanded its presence in the downtown core by opening a new campus this fall. The Port Campus, NSCAD's third property, is located on the Halifax harbourfront beside Pier 21, the gateway for thousands of new immigrants entering Canada.

The three-storey building cost $14 million and was completed this summer, providing more studio and teaching space. The 70,000-square-foot campus was built using the foundation of an old two-storey building attached to the Halifax port authority seawall.

From the outside, the black building looks modern and sleek. Its boxy structure conveys little of what is on the inside: panoramas of ocean views and students busy making art.

"I think it's beautiful. There's a lot of great studio spaces and we have a nice view of the harbour, too," says first-year student Amanda Keating.

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The port campus has an industrial tone, distinct from the downtown buildings. Photo: NSCAD

NSCAD's newest campus is home to the school's first-year foundation program, as well as most of the university's industrial components like sculpture and ceramics. The studios feature 18-foot ceilings, and there is a 172-foot horizontal glass window along the harbour side of the second floor, providing more natural light than the most talented artist could possibly use.

The only thing that might obscure the view would be a cruise ship. Pier 21 is where many of the massive vessels dock, offering NSCAD an excellent chance to showcase its talent to visitors from all over the world.

Bryan Maycock, a NSCAD professor, says being right on the harbour also means "there's lots of things to go out and draw and look at and to react to, that are different from being downtown."

Classes have started at the Port Campus but the building isn't completely finished. The chatter of eager students is punctuated with the jarring sounds of hammering and drilling. Maycock excused himself from an interview to go tell the construction workers to stop.

"Some of the problems we have to work out here is just the transfer of sound. We've got a very open-plan studio concept, so that means sound spills back and forth."

Bus access needed

NSCAD has three campuses scattered throughout downtown Halifax. The main Granville campus is located in Halifax's Historic Properties, a row of 19th-century warehouses, and the Alliance Atlantis Academic building is on nearby Brunswick Street. Students carrying canvases and other art supplies can often be seen walking from one campus to another.

The school community has always been strong, says Stefan Hancheron, president of NSCAD's student union. "Outside of school you see a lot of events that the NSCAD community attend."

Because the new waterfront campus is home to the foundation program, school dynamics are a bit different. "I know that it's tough for new students coming in to get involved in the community as much, because they are detached," Hancheron says.

Many first-year students find the distance down to the waterfront long. "It would be nice if we had a bus," says Keating.

NSCAD is trying to negotiate a new bus route down to the Port Campus, Hancheron says. In the meantime, he says, thanks to downtown's century-old buildings and architecture, "you get to walk through some of the most historic places in Canada on your way to school."

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