For nearly 60 years, Lakeland students have crossed the floors of the Newcombe N. Bentley Building on their way to class. This fall, they’ll do it again. Almost everything else around them, however, will be new.

The original plan was to replace the floors entirely. Beneath layers of aging tile, however, crews uncovered the building’s original concrete floor. Rather than cover it again, they polished it into a glossy centrepiece that now stretches through the reimagined space, complete with faint reminders of previous doorways and walls.

It’s a fitting metaphor for the project itself: preserving the building’s history while creating something entirely new. For Josh Rayment, Lakeland alumnus and manager of capital projects and renovations for Lakeland, that’s a huge part of the appeal.

The Bentley Building first opened in 1969, built to replace the original structure which had stood since 1913. Originally called the College Building, it was named after principal Newcombe N. Bentley in 1984. The building withstood the decades, including the fire that razed huge parts of the college in 1985.

“As someone who took so many classes in the old Bentley Building, being able to revitalize it and give it a new purpose has been very rewarding,” Rayment says. He studied business at Lakeland before switching to electrical studies, graduating in 2011, and then power engineering in 2020. He became an employee of the college in 2013, working through his power engineering studies. He has been involved in the Bentley renovation since its inception.

This renovation project will transform Bentley into a modern home for Lakeland’s interior design technology (IDT) and human services programs.

“The idea was that students would use Bentley as their primary entrance point and them distribute out to the other buildings on campus,” Rayment explains. Both students living in residence and off-campus students would use it as their first stop on campus before connecting to the other buildings through the Academic Link or across the quad.

“It’s also a spot on campus where students can work together, with lots of lounge spaces for working on projects and hanging out.”

The IDT program’s new home takes up most of the second floor of the building, with two design studios, a designated computer lab, and a large workspace and sample room. There is also a lounge area for the students, who tend to be on campus working on projects at odd hours, including evenings and weekends.

For the human services programs, the building includes classrooms for the child and youth care counselling (CYCC) programs with therapy rooms to practice in, as well as early childhood education (ECE) rooms that will convert to childcare rooms for the play program. The on-campus daycare is also located in this wing. It’s a private daycare that works with the program to provide students the opportunity to observe and get hands-on experience during their studies.

Both the daycare and the ECE programs have direct access to a natural playscape which was designed in consultation with the human services program.

“It includes tons of natural features,” Rayment explains. “We have a rock river with a water feature, concrete paths for the little ones to ride their bikes in circuits. We added lots of different textures, so we’ll have rock, sand, concrete and wooden structures. It’ll be really nice.”

The building also includes a dedicated Indigenous lounge and ceremony space. Designed as a circular gathering area, it incorporates the same number of wooden poles used in a tipi, creating a space for learning and connection.

There were a few “hassles and headaches” throughout the construction project, but Rayment says that’s common.

 “Now that we’re at the 98 per cent mark, things are coming together amazingly.”

With all the new features, the floor-to-ceiling windows, the technology, learning spaces and sleek architectural elements, Rayment is pleased that the original floors still remain.

“It’s nice to have that original part of the building still be part of it,” he says.  “It’s nice to see that transition from the old building into the new, without erasing the past. It reflects the character of what the college was, it’s like a time capsule.”

While nearly everything about the Bentley Building has changed, the original floor remains.

After more than five decades, it’s ready for the next generation of footsteps.