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As a world leader in children’s medical research and innovation, Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, more commonly referred to as SickKids, has gained significant international attention over the years through numerous scientific and medical breakthroughs. With medical science continuing to evolve through the digital age, SickKids is prepared for the future, thanks to a soon-to-open $400 million facility located on the eastern edge of the Discovery District. The ambitious research tower was financed by all three levels of government, as well as the Canada Foundation for Innovation, and lead donor Peter Gilgan, Founder and CEO of Mattamy Homes. Gilgan’s generous $40 million dollar donation, 10% of the total capital cost, was so crucial a factor for the project’s funding that the resulting facility has been named in his honour.
Though Peter Gilgan’s contribution was by far the largest private donation, several other private donors contributed funding for the project. Their names will be recognized on a large wall of green and blue glass panels, which are mounted to a wall in the building's grand foyer, and currently awaiting inscription.
Medical research facilities are most often located in low-rise structures in suburban office parks, but here in Toronto's core, the Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning occupies an entire 21-storey tower, weighing in with over 140,000 tonnes of concrete, glass and steel, and holding a whopping 852,748 square feet of floor space. The Diamond Schmitt Architects-designed tower rises 119 metres above the Bay and Elm intersection, clad in 12,125 panes of blue/green glass with a podium finished in 4,500 zinc panels. Its most notable distinguishing feature are a series of stacked atriums with curved façades which dramatically jut out over the Bay Street sidewalk. Generous windows letting abundant natural light penetrate the working spaces on each floor.
Set to open this fall, the facility houses labs supporting up to 2,100 research staff, with 1,600 people moving in initially from an assortment of buildings in the surrounding area. An innovative approach was taken in designing the labs by Diamond Schmitt in consultation with HDR Inc., with large interconnected rows of tables matched with ample shelving, and rolling units underneath. Shelves and tables can be raised and lowered as needed, making the space almost infinitely flexible. Fixed services such as plumbing and special ventilation equipment is situated along the inside walls of the labs, a design that has worked well in earlier Diamond Schmitt projects for St. Michael's Hospital and McGill University.
As medical research facilities are known to consume excessive power, it was good to hear that the project is aiming for LEED Gold Certification, employing sustainable construction practices and energy efficient building materials along the way. For instance, over 75% of the project’s construction waste was diverted from landfill, 20% of building materials were locally sourced or processed and 50% of the wood used for the project came from sustainably harvested sources.
“One of the wonderful opportunities here was to build on a vision to help people understand what happens here at SickKids, and a critical part of it is research.” said SickKids CEO Mary Jo Haddad, referring to the open and transparent building layout, meant to demystify research institutions. Research and patient care are tied together with 99% of the physicians working at the research tower holding academic appointments.
In addition to research, education is another main focus at the facility, which features a 250-seat auditorium and other educational facilities including learning labs on the lower floors of the building. Some public events will be held in these spaces closer to the front doors. A tele-education conferencing system which will be able to host joint sessions with other facilities around the world has been incorporated into the auditorium and secondary rooms.
Uniquely laid out, the tower is divided into six vertical “neighbourhoods” above the learning floors; Brain & Behaviour, Organ Systems & Disease, Patients Population & Policy, Genetic & Genomic Medicine, Cancer & Stem Cell Biology and finally Molecules Cells & Therapies.
While these neighbourhoods can occupy between as few as two and as many as four storeys in height, each of these working communities share their own three-storey atrium.The curving atria are all stacked vertically on the east façade, making up the building’s signature curving section.
Each of these atria provide a meeting place where workers can socialize on breaks, or gather for announcements. “How do you connect 2,000 workers together?” was the rhetorical question asked by architect Don Schmitt. “The big challenge in designing the facility was allowing interaction and collaboration between colleagues.” Stairs link all floors in each of the atria, a design which cut down on the number of elevators required in the building, and one which promotes healthy stair-climbing habits amongst the staff.
Though the design—which kitchenettes and seating areas on each of the floors of the atria—has yet to be tested by a lunch rush on a busy weekday, a spot on the lower-level sectionals in one of these impressive spaces will no doubt be a highly sought after!
These large, open common areas, framed by curvilinear balconies, provide staff with a wide range of unobstructed views looking up and down Bay Street and beyond to the surrounding cityscape. Low iron glass was selected for its crystal-clear transparency, allowing crisp views without any unnatural tint.
Additional information and renderings can be found in the project's dataBase listing, posted below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Visit the associated Forum thread, or voice your opinion in the comments section provided below.
| Related Companies: | Diamond Schmitt Architects, EllisDon |
