Construction activity continues to transform the 1875-built former Knox College building at 1 Spadina Crescent. Soon to become the new home of the U of T's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, details of the exterior are now taking shape. The three-storey, 100,000 square foot addition designed by Boston-based architects NADAAA reached structural completion earlier this Summer. Now three months since the first cladding materials were spotted, much of the addition has been sealed off from the elements.

Construction of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, image by Craig White

With just a few remaining panes of curtain wall glazing awaiting installation on the north facade of the addition, the first vertical mullion caps and horizontal framing have been installed. The first brise soleil fins can be seen as three thicker black lines in the the image below: there elements will add a great deal of texture to the completed north facade, while also helping to minimize cooling costs by reducing the amount of direct sunlight hitting the windows in the summer months.

Cladding progress on the north addition, image by Craig White

A view captured from further north on Spadina shows that installation of the addition's angular roof is practically complete. This view highlights the new southern terminating vista of Spadina Avenue, as well as the architectural relationship between the modern form and the turrets of the attached Gothic Revival structure.

Addition viewed from the north on Spadina, image by Craig White

The east and west facades of the addition will feature a stone cladding marked by narrow punched windows arranged vertically, transitioning the Gothic Revival facades of the Knox College building to the modern expanse of glass to the north. With punched windows now in place, weatherproof membranes have been installed in anticipation of the final cladding materials.

East facade of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, image by Craig White

The Knox College building restoration is being overseen by heritage specialists ERA Architects, while the landscaping of the site has been tasked to Public Work. For a comparison between the completed project and its state as of August 14, an aerial rendering and a drone-captured photograph compare similar angles. 

Top: Completed structure, image courtesy of U of T, Bottom: Aerial view of site, image by Forum contributor Jasonzed

In the time since the drone image was taken, much of the new concrete walkway around the building have been poured, and we will be back with further updates in the coming weeks.

Additional information and renderings can be found in our dataBase file for the project, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Visit the associated Forum thread, or leave a comment using the space provided at the bottom of this page.