regionalArchitects was retained by Holborn Investments and the facilities management division of Sodexo Canada to design a 330 bed student residence serving students of Ryerson University in Downtown Toronto.
Mutual Street is a north-south local road running parallel to Jarvis and Church Streets to the immediate southeast of Ryerson’s main campus. Ryerson’s 2009 Campus Master Plan identified two precincts surrounding the main campus quad: the broad residential precinct which encompasses the mixed-use and residential community surrounding the campus; and the academic precinct which encompassed the central campus and all the University’s academic and support facilities on adjacent streets. The building site at 77 Mutual Street sits well within the University’s academic precinct and, as such, was seen as an ideal location for privately developed and maintained student housing.
The residence, which when complete will seek full affiliation with Ryerson University via a legal covenant, includes accommodation for 330 students in a mix of single, 2 bedroom, and 4 bedroom units. Each unit is designed as a fully serviced suite with kitchen, dining, and living areas. A series of communal living areas, expressed on the exterior of the building through the use of tinted curtainwall glazing, are distributed throughout the building to provide the required mix of amenity and student-life programming. The building also includes 9,000sf of retail space and 3 full storeys of Ryerson academic program space.
