In the Fall of 2024, Canisius High School celebrated the newest feature of its expansive campus and the proud alumnus who made it possible on Friday with the ribbon-cutting and dedication of the Madden Center for Global Learning.
The striking and innovative new addition to Canisius High School’s campus on Delaware Avenue was funded by a $2.5 million gift by 1967 CHS graduate and South Buffalo native Michael Madden, who is the founder of the private equity investment firm BlackEagle Partners. “Canisius changed my life,” said Madden, who applied for and received a scholarship to attend CHS, as his family was unable to afford tuition with his steelworker father on disability. Madden also helped fund his own tuition by working as a delivery driver after school. “The dedication today is handing to you all, my successor students, another key, in terms of a center for global learning. It hopefully will give you access to scholars and programs around the world throughout the Jesuit community and elsewhere.”
The Madden Center is a 1,500-square-foot multi-functional digital media space, able to host global learning seminars, guest lecturers, social events, fundraisers, and extracurricular activities. Inspired by the Jesuit missionary tradition, the design concept for the atrium aimed to extend the educational space outward, to foster connections globally and at home.
The large wall of windows allows an abundance of natural light throughout the day, making it ideal space to use as a student lounge, offering a comfortable place to gather with friends or complete schoolwork.
Technology is integrated throughout the space, including an immersive video wall screen, a custom LED stock ticker display, programmable lighting, a room-sensing microphone array, and multiple built-in PTZ cameras. These key components allow the space to be quickly adapted for any type of digital presentation, online conference, or event.
The building is uniquely structured. Rigidly connected to an existing concrete frame educational building, the roof is supported by only two columns and dominated by an 88-ft long truss girder which cantilevers nearly 20-ft. The curvilinear, shield-shaped roof is framed with steel supported at one end by the existing building and cantilevering over the girder truss nearly 15-ft to the roof’s edge. Constructed half over an existing below grade space, one column bears on an existing concrete wall below and is hidden in the new wall finish along the existing corridor. The other sets on a drilled pier at the point of the space, giving the impression that the roof is floating on the glass curtain wall.
