The York School Center for Wellness

The York School is located in the heart of Toronto and was the first school in Canada accredited to offer International Baccalaureate. Farrow Partners’ design for the Centre for Wellness explores how spaces can promote holistic health and wellbeing of students. The space offers a performance enhanced, culturally and socially inclusive space for students and facilitators, featuring a cozy family room with a fireplace, collaborative space, new meeting rooms, offices and a refreshment counter. 

The ceiling of the Centre for Wellness is composed of 140 Douglas fir beams, each with different radiuses, creating a rippling effect that evokes the sensation of being under a large tree canopy on a summer day. The scale and proximity of the ceiling establishes a relationship between the physical environment, the mind and the body; a manifestation of the concept of embreathment. The gentle, flowing rhythms of the beams stimulate recollection and sensory awareness, allowing one to consciously absorb your surroundings. It also prompts awareness to turn away from the external surroundings and toward one’s inner being. This is an example of “unplugged” architecture, which encourages us to listen to our inner voice, breathing, and heartbeat. It allows for reflection, and is therefore calming and replenishing, while simultaneously creating a sense of awakening.