University of Toronto new science building

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Architectural Design // Professional Work // Firm: KieranTimberlake

The UTM New Science Building (NSB) is the new home of the university of Toronto’s department of medicinal chemistry, a new vivarium, classrooms, offices, and heavy wet lab spaces. The NSB is part of an ambitious long-term commitment to cut the university’s carbon footprint by 37% below 1990 levels by 2030. Numerous features of the design reduce resources consumption of a laboratory's traditionally energy intensive program.

The sensitivities of the vivarium required its placement below grade in a vault beneath the buildings courtyard. The main lab spaces are situated around a series of light court gardens which breath light into the centers of the floor plates. Conventional classrooms, faculty offices, and graduate student spaces occupy the upper floors which look out on the large terrace and greenroof which covers the primary building mass.