Media Invitation - Centennial College tops off new Centre for Aerospace and Aviation at Downsview Park
TORONTO, Oct. 5, 2017 /CNW/ - Centennial College is celebrating the topping off of its new Centre for Aerospace and Aviation at Downsview Park on Wednesday, October 11 at 10 am.
Students, staff, dignitaries and guests will be on hand to sign a steel I-beam before it is hoisted and permanently placed in the new hangar that forms the central feature of the rejuvenated former headquarters of de Havilland of Canada, an indelible part of Canada's aviation history.
The $72-million project includes the hangar, which is large enough to accommodate today's commercial jets, as well as new classrooms, laboratory space, workshops, offices and a campus library. Centennial currently trains about 300 aircraft technicians and avionics technicians annually at its Ashtonbee Campus in Scarborough.
Downsview Campus will house an innovation and research working group that brings together industry leaders and academic partners, including the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, Ryerson University, York University, Bombardier and others. The campus will anchor the Downsview Aerospace Innovation and Research (DAIR) consortium, which is working to maintain Canada's fifth-place ranking as a major aerospace supplier to the world.
What is a Topping Off Ceremony?
The practice of "topping off" a new building can be traced back to a very old Scandinavian practice of placing a tree (usually fir) on the top of a new building to appease the displaced tree-dwelling spirits of ancestors. Scandinavian mythology suggests that man may have originated from a tree, and the soul returns to the tree after death. The practice migrated to England with the Viking invaders and the tradition came to North America with European craftsmen.
| Date: |
Wednesday, October 11 |
| Time: |
10 am to 11 am, followed by a reception |
| Location: |
Scotiabank Pond, 57 Carl Hall Road, North York |
SOURCE Centennial College
Media contact: Mark Toljagic, Communications Officer, Centennial College, 416-289-5000 ext. 7142, mobile 416-605-6012, [email protected]
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