University of Toronto: Terrence Donnelly Center (Toronto, Canada) : Large garden area in the south block

Creator:

architectsAlliance, Canadian architectural firm, established ca. 1993
Behnisch Architekten, est. 1989

Published/Created:

160 College Street, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2002-2005

Date Depicted:

8/5/2006
1950 AD - 2010 AD

Materials:

glass
metal

Notes:

The CCBR Building was built for the University of Toronto to support top-level interdisciplinary research in bioengineering and disease. With a site on the downtown St. George Campus that was formerly a lane, the architects were challenged to accommodate the program of the building while providing linkages to three adjacent buildings. The building was funded by various levels of government, and private donors, with the key benefactor being Terrence Donnelly, a retired lawyer and entrepreneur. Set back from the built edge of College Street, the CCBR is respectful of the 100 year old Mining Building to the west, and the 80 year old FitzGerald Building to the east. The building is pinched at the middle of its height, breaking the bulk of the building while adding interest. A metal clad curving mechanical penthouse tops the glass volume. The building, which is primarily clad with glass, shows distinct treatments of each facade. The South facade that faces the forecourt off College Street is a glass dual facade. This two layered transparent wall moderates solar gain while buffering outdoor air, improving comfort for the offices it encloses. The West facade features an assortment of fritted glass of varying opacity and pattern. The East facade is distinguished by the playful addition of brightly coloured glass panels, reminiscent of genetic chromatography patterns. Inside, a key element is a multi-storey atrium space that connects to the adjacent Rosebrugh Building. This open space is planted densely with tall bamboo that is top lit from the glass ceiling above. On upper floors a delightfully vertigo-inducing stair clings to the edge above the atrium, connecting lab floors. On arrival, visitors are led up a generous stair along the bamboo plantation to an upper level that is scattered with four richly coloured curving rooms, three of them classrooms. Clad in brilliant mosaic tiles, each treatment is distinct and provides a delightful material and formal excitement to the interior . A number of brightly coloured apertures in the ceiling reveal skylights that add interest and daylight to the lobby space. At this level at the north end corridor connections to two adjacent buildings are made. In the upper floors at the south face of the building a series of three storey winter gardens provide a generous vegetated lounge space that connects the different floors. Planted with a large tree and other plants, benches are provided to provide a beautiful resting place. Throughout the building warm wood panelling, benches and accents balance the cool glass and steel surfaces that dominate. The material palette is restrained, with strategic flashes of more generous finishes. The building is impressive and inviting, the large forecourt facing College Street makes the approach to the entrance processional, and the building commands the space. The choice to use the bamboo filled atrium to make the connection to the adjacent hertiage building is brilliant: the resulting space is delightful and unexpected in the context of institutional buildings. The organization of the building is clear, and users are always near either a transparent perimeter wall, or one of the key organizing elements in the plan, be it the atrium, classrooms, or winter gardens.

Variant Titles:

Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research

Topics:

Architecture -- Canada -- 21st century -- (YVRC)

Period/Style:

Twenty-first century

Culture:

Canadian

Accession Number:

1A1-BEA-TDC-F20

Genre:

architecture (AAT)
research buildings (AAT)

Format:

Image

Content Type:

Sculptures, Models, & Architecture

Rights:

Copyright Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.

Access Restrictions:

Yale Community Only

Digital:

architectural exteriors; contemporary (1960 to present); scientific or medical; Biology Research; educational construction building divisions; rooms and spaces; classrooms; buildings; research buildings; laboratories; research laboratories interior

Source Creator:

Gilchrist, Scott

Source Title:

Archivision Module Three

Source Created:

2878 Chamonix, Montreal QC
Archivision, Inc.
8/5/2006

Source Note:

Purchase, Visual Resources Collection, May, 2011; photographer Scott Gilchrist

Yale Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Digital Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Local Record Number:

4152

OID:

10156100

PID:

digcoll:1831313