In response to a rising student population and aging educational facilities, the University of Toronto is in the process of building three major additions to their St. George Campus, each at a different stage of construction; the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, the Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and the Jackman Law Building Expansion.

The closest project to completion is the Jackman Law Building Expansion on Queens Park Crescent. Designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects and B+H Architects, the new 66,000 square foot addition to the existing neoclassical 1902 Flavelle House—itself restored as part of the project—will include a 210-student lecture hall, a student lounge, faculty and staff offices, seminar halls, and new food services.

Jackman Law Building Expansion, image by Jack Landau

The building was structurally completed last year, and work has since been progressing on both the exterior envelope and the spaces within. Over the course of the past few months, crews have been busy adding the final limestone panels to the structure's vertical brise soleils—or sun shades—designed to minimize excess sunlight and cut cooling costs. 

Limestone brise soleils on the west and southwest facades of the Jackman Law Building Expansion, image by Jack Landau

The Jackman Law Building Expansion is expected to see completion this year, though some spaces such as the newly renovated Bora Laskin Library have already opened their doors to students.

Bora Laskin Library seen on the lower level, marked by five square punched windows, image by Jack Landau

A kilometre away at the opposite corner of the vast campus, construction of the new John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design is in full swing at 1 Spadina Crescent. The project involves the construction of a three-storey, 100,000 sq. ft. addition on the north side of the former Knox College building featuring a design by Boston-based architects NADAAA, with ERA Architects overseeing the heritage restoration component.

1 Spadina Crescent viewed from the south, image by Jack Landau

As restoration work continues on the historic interiors of the former Knox College building, the modern addition is now fast rising, with work now under way on the third storey. The first two levels of the addition have been constructed using reinforced concrete, while the third and final level is divided between concrete and structural steel construction.

Daniels Faculty of Architecture viewed from the north, image by Jack Landau

An angular concrete form now marks the future west entrance to the addition, while the installation of insulation materials on the second floor has begun in advance of the first panels of exterior cladding. The building should appear complete from the outside by the end of 2016.

Interesting geometry at the west side of the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, image by Jack Landau

Halfway between the two previous buildings, and still in its early stages of construction is the new Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship at 55 St. George Street. Excavation is now mostly complete for the new eight-storey, Montgomery Sisam Architects-designed building, and work on the structure's foundation is now in progress.

Site of the Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship viewed from the south, image by Jack Landau

While it will likely take several months before the concrete and rebar here rises above grade, and it's still long before the first panels of cladding are installed, a test wall with various cladding samples was recently spotted just outside the site by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Billet, giving viewers an idea of what to expect for the building's exteriors. Construction of the project is currently slated for completion in 2017.

Centre for Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship test cladding sample, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Biljet

You can follow the projects listed in this article by visiting the Forum threads associated with the dataBase, all files linked below. You can get involved in the discussion in those threads, or leave a comment using the space provided at the bottom of this page.