A major institutional reinvestment is planned at the University of Toronto’s St. George campus, where a new 11-story academic and laboratory building would replace the aging West Wing of the Medical Sciences Building. Designed by MVRDV in collaboration with Diamond Schmitt Architects, the proposed James and Louise Temerty Building would rise on the south side of King’s College Circle, directly across from Convocation Hall, strengthening the institutional edge of Front Campus.
Originally completed in 1969, the Medical Sciences Building was purpose-built for what is now the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and continues to house roughly half of its on-campus footprint. However, the West Wing’s laboratory systems and layouts have become increasingly incompatible with contemporary biomedical research. University assessments concluded that retrofitting the structure would be both cost-prohibitive and disruptive, leading to a replacement strategy supported by interim off-campus laboratory conversions.
The new facility would provide approximately 36,978 square meters of institutional space across 11 stories and two underground levels, physically connecting to the remaining portions of the existing complex. The majority of the program is dedicated to flexible wet laboratories shared by the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Arts & Science’s Department of Cell & Systems Biology. Additional spaces would include active-learning classrooms, student study areas, administrative offices, and large ground-floor assembly areas designed to support major campus events such as Convocation and alumni gatherings. Mechanical systems and a campus nodal utility plant would be integrated below grade.
Read more at Urban Toronto.