Honor - SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture for a New Building

Ryerson University

Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex

Jury Comments

“. . . the mixed-use approach is handled very deftly and smartly . . . the exterior façade treatments at the street are well executed to create an inviting experience . . . I appreciated the sectional connectivity of spaces . . .”

Highlights

Building – 289,000 sq ft
The DCHSC humanizes the experience of living-andlearning in a tall building.
The core concept of “Creating Connections for a Healthy City” informs the design at every scale.
Registered to achieve LEED Gold certification.

Perspectives

The campus is thoroughly integrated into the heart of a busy Toronto downtown core. The land resources are finite, but enrollment is growing and the university is confronted with the need to modernize and consolidate academic facilities. The 2008 master plan identified key strategies around increased densification, including the creation of vertical campus nodes. The creation of a vertical campus presented challenges to identity, orientation, and wayfinding. A continuous and boldly-articulated public realm draws people up the building, connecting them with each other and the city. A series of interconnected atria are intimate and conducive to informal interaction. The public realm is populated with a series of shared amenities, while the urban farm and ground floor cafe create larger-scaled common spaces where the facilities connect to the campus and city. The design promotes pedestrian movement throughout, despite its 28-story height.

Project Team

Perkins&Will; Eastern Construction Company Ltd.; WSP; MCW; External Link; Crossey; MMM Group; DTAH; Swallow; Thornton Tomasetti; Human Space; RWDI; Jensen Hughes; Turner & Townsend; CES Engineering; SPL Consultants; EPA Ltd.; Mulvey & Banani International Inc.; Speight Van Nostrand; Gladki Planning Associates

Planning Types

Challenges

Learning Resources

Conferences & Programs

Community