Toronto U of T: Lawson Centre for Sustainability | 16.52m | 4s | U of T | Mecanoo Architecten

They might not even be going with the architect from the massing study, since their most recent newsletter notes that they're in the midst of a two-step search process for an architect.

Since it's my alma mater and they seem receptive to feedback, I'd be happy to pass along a suggestion of an architect or a building that they could use as inspiration. I think we all want to avoid seeing something as ugly as the massing study go up and mar the campus, especially given that this building will tower over the south end of Varsity Stadium.
 
One hopes...but they don't have deep pockets like UofT, as a federated college I don't think they can access UofT's capital funds for "architectural excellence"...

Trin has pretty deep pockets. At 90M or so, its per student endowment is over $41,000, behind Vic, but well ahead of U of T as a whole (per student). (4th in the country)

They have an extremely affluent alumni.

No reason not to expect, and demand excellence here.

To credit Trin properly, their rehab job on Devonshire House, turning the former residence into their library and the home of the Munk School of Global affairs was masterful.

JohnW.GrahamLibraryTrinityCollege1-300x225.jpg


Image from "Pickle Me This"

 
Everyone always wants 'avant garde' ...........

I would happily 'settle' for something from Robert A.M. Stern

From Architect Magazine:

90


I'm not saying that's the building I want, I'm saying I think it exemplifies something that could beautifully compliment the Trin campus.
 
Trin has pretty deep pockets. At 90M or so, its per student endowment is over $41,000, behind Vic, but well ahead of U of T as a whole (per student). (4th in the country)

They have an extremely affluent alumni.

No reason not to expect, and demand excellence here.

To credit Trin properly, their rehab job on Devonshire House, turning the former residence into their library and the home of the Munk School of Global affairs was masterful.

JohnW.GrahamLibraryTrinityCollege1-300x225.jpg


Image from "Pickle Me This"

KPMB Architects did a good job of that. Though the make-up air into the library space is inadequate and it's always stuffy. Not great for studying.

To the comment below you suggesting Robert AM Stern - well, you picked a weird picture; a lot of that firm's neogothic stuff is more ordinary. I think they would fit right in here. Good suggestion.
 
Trin has pretty deep pockets. At 90M or so, its per student endowment is over $41,000, behind Vic, but well ahead of U of T as a whole (per student). (4th in the country)
They have an extremely affluent alumni.

They do have prominent and wealthy alums, and they do have a good endowment; unfortunately, most of those alums give to UofT, not Trinity specifically, and they can't use their endowment for capital projects. They'll need targeted fundraising for this project specifically...a la Jackman Law Building.
 
They do have prominent and wealthy alums, and they do have a good endowment; unfortunately, most of those alums give to UofT, not Trinity specifically, and they can't use their endowment for capital projects. They'll need targeted fundraising for this project specifically...a la Jackman Law Building.

Mayo Moran was Dean of Law when Jackman was built. She’s now Provost of Trinity. Jackman turned out pretty rough in my opinion. Hope she learned some lessons about building for the centuries. These buildings will be here a looooong time.
 

And the prognostication of some on this thread seems to have been accurate:

Staff will require the submission of revised detailed architectural plans that illustrate the building envelope for the site. This building envelope will be used to develop the associated site-specific Zoning By-law Amendment for the property. Trinity College has indicated that it has entered into a selection process for an architect and design team for the project in order to address this issue.
 
More info about Mecanoo: https://www.mecanoo.nl/

RDH Architects: https://www.rdharch.com/


Monday, July 8, 2019 | Trinity College’s New Building Architects

Trinity College's New Building to be Designed by Mecanoo Architecten in Partnership with RDHA


Trinity College has selected Mecanoo Architecten from the Netherlands in partnership with Toronto firm RDH Architects Inc. (RDHA) to design and build the College’s new student residence and academic building.

“We are thrilled to be working with Mecanoo and RDHA on the design and development of our new building. They have a deep understanding of what we aspire to and our core values of excellence, community and sustainability,” said Professor Mayo Moran, Provost and Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College. “We want our campus be an inspiring and welcoming place to learn, live and work. This is an exciting opportunity to complement our beautiful, historic campus.”


Monday, October 7, 2019 | Update on Trinity College’s New Building Project

Dear Members of the Trinity Community:

I am pleased to provide you with an update on Trinity College’s new building project.

Over the last few months, our architectural team – Mecanoo in partnership with RHDA – has spent a great deal of time at Trinity, assessing our needs, exploring our campus, and talking with members of the Trinity community. Our need for space to better support our existing student population is acute—in addition to creating residential space to allow more students to live on campus, the growth of our programs means that we also require teaching and learning space. Following a comprehensive review of our site, they have developed an approach that is responsive to our historic campus, to the connections between our buildings and landscape, and to how we use our spaces.

Their evolving design is a lower-profile structure closer to the scale of our historic buildings than the mid-rise building that was presented for our development application. The new vision anticipates a low-rise T-shape footprint beginning at the west edge of the parking lot and extending along the north edge of the backfield. Re-integrating the North Field into the heart of campus life--something our students identified as a key aspiration during consultations—enables us to create open green spaces that can be used for a variety of activities and for play (as you may know, the field has been fenced and locked for well over a decade making it largely inaccessible to the college community). The T-structure will include a new north-south axis, with access points and pathways to better connect the new building with the rest of campus.
 
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In selecting an architect, the College conducted a comprehensive two-stage selection process. Rather than a design competition, the College chose a qualifications-based search, focusing on breadth of relevant experience, design excellence, track record of successful collaborations, and the ability to solve the unique spatial, technical and programmatic challenges of Trinity College’s project. The College’s Architect Selection Advisory Committee unanimously chose Mecanoo and RDHA from a pool of excellent firms.

? ? ?
 
Everyone always wants 'avant garde' ...........

I would happily 'settle' for something from Robert A.M. Stern

From Architect Magazine:

90


I'm not saying that's the building I want, I'm saying I think it exemplifies something that could beautifully compliment the Trin campus.

That building is...new?
 

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