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47 years after its opening at St George and Harbord streets, the University of Toronto’s Robarts Library is undergoing a major expansion with 'Robarts Common', a five-storey addition to the Mathers and Haldenby-designed Brutalist icon. Now structurally-complete along the building's Huron Street frontage, the Diamond Schmitt Architects-designed glass expansion will add 4,304 m² to the 1973-built building when it opens in 2021.
Preliminary construction began along the facility's west side towards the end of 2017, and by early 2019, the steel structure of the addition had begun to take shape. We last checked in on the project's construction status just shy of one year ago, when the steel skeleton was well underway, having progressed the furthest at its north and south ends. The steel structure was completed this past Spring, along with internal poured and precast concrete elements including floor slabs and a "floating" tiered staircase at the building's south end.
Most recently, installation of the curtainwall glazing has begun. In preparation, a network of steel supports were installed along the exterior in July, from which the first panels of curtainwall were hung (giving the cladding type its name) along the north end of the west elevation. The most recent photos from the site show that the majority of the second floor has since been covered in glazing.
The project is slated to open its doors next year, bringing 1,222 work and study spaces to the facility, and increasing Robarts Library's capacity to more than 6,000 seats across study spaces open 24/7 during peak times in the academic year. The south entrance to Robarts Common will include an atrium with a café, flexible seating, and information terminals.
You can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like to, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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| Related Companies: | Blackwell, Diamond Schmitt Architects |
