Ryerson University located in Toronto's downtown core, has made quite a number of significant additions to their campus per Urban Toronto. Their Student Learning Centre on Yonge Street and the still under construction Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex are certainly welcome and needed additions to their campus.
The University has submitted a rezoning application for what could be their largest expansion project. Plans call for a 41 storey tower with institutional, retail and student residence uses. The designer is Copenhagen-based Henning Larsen Architects with Zeidler Partnership Architects of Toronto.
The building will be located on a Ryerson owned parking lot where it will complete the transformation of the Jarvis and Dundas intersection which started with the construction of Pace Condos and has been joined by Grid Condos and Dundas Square Gardens.
The building, at 202 Jarvis Street, will house an 11 storey academic base with 31,468 square metres of classroom, laboratory and research space intended for the Faculty of Science. The tower floors above will feature the following amenities:
- Ryerson-owned and operated student residence for 551 students
- 3 floors of bike storage (two of which will be underground) for 1,000 bikes
- 576 m2 of ground floor retail for pedestrian traffic
- Two rooftop patios on the fifth floor of the building
The Pocket Garden will connect the Mutual Street Entrance and plaza to Dundas Street and will run adjacent to a student gallery.
Once the amendments are issued and funding becomes available, the University will be able to expand on its architectural expressions in more detail. In the design's current form, a grid-like pattern of charcoal brick and gold metal panels frame the windows of the facade.
According to the Daily Hive, the student residence alone will be 29 stories high. A new public square which will accompany the tower will be known as University Square and will be one of the main entrances into the building. It will also serve as a focal point for the downtown campus.
Per Ryerson.ca, Ryerson University was named after Egerton Ryerson, the founder of Ontario's public education system and is home to Canada's largest undergraduate business school, the Ted Rogers School of Management and Canada's third largest undergraduate engineering school, the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science, as well as the Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Communication & Design.
Ryerson is the most applied-to university in Ontario relative to available space and has over 45,000 students enrolled. The University's history is rooted in innovative, career-driven education with the goal of addressing contemporary societal needs.
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