This month, the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto, celebrates its 125th anniversary, as the oldest architectural program in Canada reaches a significant milestone ahead of its relocation to 1 Spadina Crescent next year.

The anniversary will be marked by a series of dialogues taking place throughout the day on May 30th, held at the faculty's current location on 230 College Street, with all alumni invited. Following the dialogues, a reception will be held at the Royal Ontario Museum in the evening.

Alongside the commemorative events, the faculty's Eric Arthur Gallery gallery (also at 230 College Street) will be hosting a retrospective exhibit chronicling the school's long and distinguished history. The exhibit will run from May 30 through to September, with free admission to the public.

The faculty's anniversary comes at a symbolically significant time, as the upcoming relocation to 1 Spadina Crescent will see the well-respected institution take up residence in—and transform—one of the city's most prominent heritage properties. Alongside restoration of the existing building, the relocation will add a large modern expansion (designed by NADAAA) to the property's north side. 

        A rendering of the completed restoration, image courtesy of NADAAA

The simultaneous restoration and transformation of the property befits an institution whose ethos envisions the city around it as "both a laboratory and object of study for its professors and students," according to a press release ahead of the anniversary. For the faculty and its alumni, the city of Toronto is not only a place to understand and study, but also a dynamic space which to affect and transform. For 1 Spadina Crescent, this means both respecting and preserving the architecture and social fabric that exists, while also adding something new, bold, and distinctively different.

  North face of the addition, looking south on Spadina Avenue, image courtesy of NADAA

Throughout its history, Daniels faculty and alumni have helped shape some of the city's most recognizable landmarks, including the Toronto Reference Library, The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, and the National Ballet School. As the school reaches its 125th anniversary and relocates to the Spadina Crescent, it continues to be a force that shapes the city, just as the city continues to shape it.