University of Toronto Opens Environmental Science and Chemistry Building

The University of Toronto opened the $52.7 million Environmental Science and Chemistry Building in January of 2016. Located on the Scarborough campus in Toronto, the 110,000-sf facility was designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects and delivered with design-build construction partner EllisDon. Providing flexible teaching and research space for the study of climate change and environmental science, the five-story collaborative building houses classrooms, laboratories, and academic offices connected by a skylit forum and crossroads. The facility offers active learning environments and breakout rooms with glass walls to promote interaction, and the open labs are designed with a series of double-sided benches for optimal distribution of services. LEED Gold certification will be sought for the project, which features a high-performance building envelope, geothermal boreholes beneath the building, a storm water recycling system, a green roof, solar shading, and LED lighting. The facility also utilizes an earth tube system that draws fresh air in through six cylindrical shafts, providing pretreatment below grade before the air enters the mechanical system.