The University of Toronto Scarborough Campus (UTSC) is set to receive a new student-centered learning and support hub courtesy of ZAS Architects, in collaboration with CEBRA Architecture.
The design of the building is inspired by the form of a 19th century Printer’s Tray. The building’s four distinct facades mirror the tray’s compartments and represent the diversity of spaces and educational environments within. The framed grid that forms the building’s facade creates a design that combines various volumes, scales, surfaces, and spatial qualities.
The facility is described as a dynamic learning landscape that promotes agile and asynchronous education through a complex arrangement of rooms and open public spaces spanning multiple floors. Artificially-created terrain spills from the outside in to create a hybrid of social and study areas that support campus life.
Students will have access to a multitude of flexible, technology-enabled spaces, including 21 classrooms ranging from a 500-seat auditorium (dubbed the Campfire auditorium) to 24-seat active learning environments. The learning spaces sit on top of each other. Creating opportunities for platform and bleacher seating space known as the Knoll, which scales the roof of the 210-seat Butterfly Cave tiered auditorium.
A large study/social space, dubbed the Office, sits atop the Campfire auditorium, which protrudes two meters above the ground floor. Ascending rows allow for spatial flexibility and create a dynamic viewing experience for students, promoting immersive learning in an interactive, asynchronous environment with surrounding digital screens. The learning landscape extends horizontally across the ground floor, which features a recessed facade that is highly transparent with mullion-free structural glass panes. At the top of the building, meanwhile, two rooftop gardens will merge indoor and outdoor spaces to enhance the public realm within the upper floors.
Health and wellness elements are featured throughout, but are central to the fifth floor, where the campus-wide Student Affairs programs will be consolidated and prioritized into one central and accessible space. This will include counseling and mental health resources, a meditation and breastfeeding room, a physician and nurse office, academic advising and accessibility services, and multiple co-working spaces.
Related Stories
University Buildings | Aug 16, 2016
New images of Rice University’s Moody Center for the Arts revealed by Michael Maltzan Architecture
The arts center will foster creativity for making and presenting works across all disciplines
| Aug 10, 2016
UNIVERSITY GIANTS: Facing money woes, the nation's colleges double down on innovative ideas
Budget constraints are compelling some public institutions to pursue alternative methods of financing their major building projects.
| Aug 9, 2016
Top 70 University Engineering Firms
AECOM, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, and Jacobs top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest university sector engineering and E/A firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 9, 2016
Top 100 University Construction Firms
Turner Construction Co., The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co, and Skanska USA top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest university sector construction and construction management firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 9, 2016
Top 100 University Architecture Firms
Gensler, Perkins+Will, and CannonDesign top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest university sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
University Buildings | Aug 5, 2016
How to design the best dining facilities for Millennial students
Location, visibility, and adaptability are three important ideas to keep in mind when designing campus dining spaces, writes Gresham Smith and Partners’ Patrick Gilbert.
University Buildings | Jul 22, 2016
Fast-growing UC Merced will double in size by 2020
The state’s Board of Regents has approved a $1.34 billion plan that would add nearly 1.2 million sf of new space.
University Buildings | Jul 6, 2016
University housing of the future will blend life and study
Universities across the country are striving to meet the demand of on-campus housing. VOA's Steve Siegle examines what students and universities desire in campus living, and how designers can respond.
University Buildings | Jun 13, 2016
Renovated Drexel University academic building will welcome students with front porch
A large screen sets a living room vibe for the Philadelphia academic building. Plans call for 9,000 sf of common space on the inside and a new quad on the outside.
University Buildings | Jun 13, 2016
Universities infuse tech features into learning, living, and shopping spaces
Virtual learning rooms, gaming stations, and self-check-out kiosks are among the perks—and necessities—that have all become commonplace in college campus design.
