Goodes Hall
Goodes Hall
Located on the Queen’s University campus, Goodes Hall is home to Queen’s School of Business. The centre piece of the facility is a 110-year-old Victorian school house. An extensive $25 million renovation completed in 2002 transformed the site into an impressive 110,000-square-foot interactive learning centre for management education. Goodes Hall is named in honour of Mel Goodes, the building’s major donor. An alumnus of Queen’s School of Business, Mel Goodes was the Chairman and CEO of Warner-Lambert Company before his retirement in 1999.
Goodes Hall was conceived, designed and constructed not just as a building, but also as a community. The guiding principle from the outset was to create a space that would enable maximum interaction between faculty, staff and students in all of Queen's School of Business' programs. Design features include a dramatic central "hive" of the building that uses an atrium to bridge the streetscape exterior of the old schoolhouse to the new section of the building. This expansive glass atrium area houses a lounge and the main Goodes Hall reception area, and is used as a central space to post news and hold events. The classrooms and lecture halls themselves were designed for optimal sightlines and communication.
Goodes Hall Tour
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The Victoria School
Built in 1892 on the occasion of Canada's 25th birthday and named after Queen Victoria, Victoria School is one of the oldest and most ornate in Canada. It served the Kingston community as an elementary school until it was closed in 1985. Queen's purchased the property in the early 1990's, using it for the Registrar's office until it was designated as the site of Goodes Hall in 1999.
A Unique Blend of Old and New
Goodes Hall combines the history of Victoria School, a preserved 1892 schoolhouse, with the contemporary design, architecture and cutting-edge learning tools of a modern business school.
Numerous historical elements of Victoria School have been preserved and incorporated into Goodes Hall. For example, plaques and room signage recognizing the building's donors have been custom-carved from the original slate blackboards that were first installed in Victoria School in the 1890s. During construction of Goodes Hall, the original 1892 schoolhouse blackboards were uncovered, revealing a handwritten honour roll dating back to 1934. This honour roll has been preserved and was showcased at the opening of Goodes Hall.
Many other original architectural details have been preserved and refinished, such as the grand maple staircase, maple wainscoting and tin ceilings. Original design elements have been maintained as well. For example, the original circa-1892 classrooms continue to be used as classrooms in Goodes Hall, complete with airy 14-foot ceilings, and the school's original exterior doors have been preserved as a ceremonial entrance to the building.
The design of Goodes Hall is consistent with Queen's University's philosophy of "construction with respect for history," and the belief that new buildings should be tastefully integrated with the historic surroundings of Kingston, Ontario.
Goodes Hall Expansion
In March 2010, Queen's announced that Goodes Hall will undergo a significant expansion that will increase the size of the facility by 75,000 square feet, with construction to completed by July, 2011. The expansion will include several new state-of-the-art classrooms, student breakout rooms, 51 additional faculty offices and many enhanced features for our students and faculty. The Goodes Hall expansion will enable Queen's School of Business to enhance and expand existing programs, accommodate new graduate programs, foster research excellence, and recruit the faculty needed to support this growth.
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