795 
The University of Toronto’s six-storey Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health (SAMIH) is nearing completion, with students using the building as exterior finishing continues. Designed by MVRDV and Diamond Schmitt Architects, the academic, clinical, and research hub stands at Military Trail and Morningside Avenue in Toronto’s Highland Creek neighbourhood. Just to its east, the university’s six-storey Retail and Parking Commons, designed by Behnisch Architekten with gh3 as architect of record, adds 1,095 parking spaces, retail, and institutional uses to the North portion of the Scarborough campus.
Viewed from across Military Trail in December, 2025, SAMIH was topped off and largely wrapped in blue weatherproofing, awaiting final cladding. Dark-framed windows punctuate the elevations, with taller, darker louvresplaced in the mechanical penthouse level. Broad curtain wall glass panes predominate at ground level. At left, the west elevation angles inward; at right, a stepped recess frames the central glazed slot.
By May, 2026, the Morningside Avenue view showed multi-tonal, silver-grey, building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) panels covering most of the north elevation west of the central glazed recess. Alternating shades form horizontal floor bands and narrower vertical strips between windows. The angled west elevation at right retains black tarp around glazing and light-grey upper-floor panel sections. East of the recess, wood-toned backing and blue weatherproofing await enclosure as workers install cladding from articulated boom lifts.
In August, 2026, the north elevation’s full-height, dark-mullioned curtain wall reveals stacked atrium circulation spaces, furnishings, and illuminated ceilings. Staggered projections frame the recess, contrasting smooth and vertically ribbed wood-toned finishes with grey BIPV panels. Varied panel widths create a patchwork across the flanking wings, punctuated by narrow windows and taller mechanical penthouse louvres. A shallow glazed entrance canopy retains temporary supports beside fencing and the newly paved forecourt; exposed black weatherproofing at lower left marks remaining cladding gaps.
Inside the then soon-to-open building (with exterior work continuing), wood panelling wraps the multi-storey atrium’s projecting upper-floor volumes. An open switchback staircase pairs glass balustrades and metal handrails with deep-green accent walls. Recessed lights illuminate wood-panelled soffits beneath a slatted ceiling.
From across Military Trail in September, 2026, a blue boom lift reaches from the curbside to workers installing second-floor cladding beside the central entrance, where backing remains exposed. The wings angle away from the recessed atrium glazing, with silvery-grey panels to the west, darker tones to the east, and wood-toned finishes around the central staggered projections. Full-height storefront glazing meets a broad paved forecourt with bicycle racks and young trees.
Cladding is substantially complete on the north and west elevations, wrapping the sharply folded west facade’s alternating slopes from roofline to glazed ground floor. Continuous joints turn the corner towards the longer wing’s regular window bays. Blue-mesh fencing separates unfinished perimeter areas, with the Retail and Parking Commons visible beyond at left.
The completed Commons now accommodates vehicles following construction begun in June, 2024. Above a black-panelled, glazed ground floor, pale pink panels form repeated scalloped openings. Curved profiles continue along the roofline, while a vertical southwest corner notch folds the facade inward. New sidewalks, streetlights, trees, and sod surround the building. Retailers will open in several spaces at ground level to serve the university population.
The Retail and Parking Commons and Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health stand at 23.47m and 32m, respectively.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on these developments, but in the meantime, you can learn more about them from our Database files, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversations in the associated Project Forum threads or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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| Related Companies: | Bousfields, Diamond Schmitt Architects, EllisDon, gh3, RJC Engineers, Salas O'Brien, Vortex Fire Consulting Inc. |
