The Gerald Schwartz School of Business project included the renovation of a former science building and a 1,900-square-metre addition. Bird fast-tracked the project with an aggressive schedule necessitating a participatory design process that brought the project team together with university stakeholders in a series of design workshops.

Challenged by introducing a new building program into a 50-year-old facility, the limited floor-to-floor space threatened to reduce valuable ceiling height due to the new mechanical and electrical systems. By installing 77 heat pumps throughout the building, the team was able to reduce the need for large duct runs. In larger teaching spaces, air distribution was achieved using a plenum system rather than the typical duct work. This also allowed a higher finished ceiling height.