Ryerson University's high-profile new Student Learning Centre under construction on Yonge Street a block north of Dundas is suddenly sporting some serious blues, but despite the weather, it's not feeling them. The colourful soffit on the Snøhetta and Zeidler Partnership Architects-designed building has been a long time coming—and there are still final touches to be applied—but the installation of these pieces at the end of last week add the final major piece to the puzzle that has been overall street presence of this remarkable building.

Looking north towards the Ryerson Student Learning Centre, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor G.L. 17

Shot above and below by UrbanToronto Forum contributor G.L.17 at the 'Magic Hour' when the light is soft, the Ryerson Student Learning Centre's interior lighting schemes shine through the building's tessellated frit glazing. Each floor features a unique lighting design tailored to its layout and programming.

Looking northeast towards the Ryerson Student Learning Centre, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor G.L. 17

The building's soffit is clad with a repeating pattern of powder-coated aluminum tetrahedra, mounted typically in pairs to form a square grid across the chamfers and overhangs. While the predominant colour of the powder coating is blue, there are a number of colours baked into the automotive-quality coating, and some reflectivity in the surface, meaning that the colour of the soffits will change with position of the sun over the course of a day as the angle of the light hitting the surface alters. The 3D qualities of the tetrahedra will give a textured effect to the reflections, even in low light conditions as seen below.

Looking up at the soffit above the Yonge Street retail frontage, image by Craig White

Final exterior details are coming while interior work continues, including that for retail spaces which will front Yonge Street. The space—depending on who is leasing it—can be configured for two retails or for one, and is 95% on a lower level. 

Looking north along the Yonge Street retail frontage, image by Craig White

Work to complete the interior fit-out of the building will continue over the coming months as the university prepares to welcome students to the new personal and collaborative study spaces in the second half of 2015.

Looking southeast towards the Ryerson Student Learning Centre, image by Devon Johnson

Want to know more about the Ryerson Student Learning Centre? You can read earlier stories about the project including hard hat tours which are linked at the end of this article, or UrbanToronto's dataBase file for the project, linked below, has renderings and information covering all aspects of the project. Want to talk about the building? Choose one of the associated Forum threads to get in on the conversation, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.