University of Toronto plans new Architectural Landmark Planetarium

The University of Toronto's Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics is in the planning stages for a new Astronomy Building. This will be built on the northwest corner of St. George and Russell Streets and is on the site of the current building. A planetarium will be built as part of the building per Urban Toronto.

Plans call for a 200 seat planetarium which would be used by both University of Toronto students and the general public. The cosmos will be presented using a cutting edge digital projection system. They anticipate educating and entertaining tens of thousands of visitors every year. Today's planetariums are used for a lot more than just astronomy. Visualizing climate data to exploring the interior of the human brain are just a few of the uses. The planetarium will be open to scientists, engineers, artists and indigenous leads to pursue research, education and cultural activities. 

 This will be a world class facility with landmark architecture suitable to becoming a "tourist and cultural centerpiece for the city." The Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics is working with architects at this time to realize their goal of having a design in place by 2020. The department is also looking for financial help in supporting this project. 

The new building will be replacing the McLaughlin Planetarium which has been shuttered for the past 23 years. About four years ago, a new cultural complex was proposed to take it's place. Looking for more Public Toronto projects? Click here.

According to Astro University of Toronto, the wish list for the new structure would include a mix of research facilities, classrooms, departmental offices and a planetarium.

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The plan for this building would bring together under one roof the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics and the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics. This will provide the infrastructure that is needed to bring together astronomy and astrophysics faculty and students that are at this time spread over several buildings, along with new labs and modern teaching spaces.

As usual, I always like to throw in a little history and per Toronto Storeys, the old McLaughlin Planetarium was noted for its laser shows and educational exhibits. It was located next to the Royal Ontario Museum and was a gift to the museum and the city of Toronto in 1986 by R.S. McLaughlin of Oshawa who was Chairman of the Board of General Motors of Canada. At that time, the planetarium took two years and $2.2 million to build. In 2009, the University of Toronto purchased the building for $22 million.