Ontario Construction News staff writer
Danish-headquartered Henning Larsen Architects is working with Toronto-based KPMB Architects on a design proposal for a new research and educational facility at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus.
The Architect’s Newspaper reports that the building is being marketed as the Arts, Culture and Technology (ACT) Building. The project will occupy a site in the northwest corner of the university across from the Perkins+Will-designed Deerfield Hall.
Early renderings show an asymmetrical, star-shaped structure with five spokes of varying floor areas and heights, with “natural” construction materials including wood and substation natural lighting.
The planned building would be used for technological research including robotics, along with an extension of the existing Blackwood Gallery, Indigenous centre, lecture theatre, restaurant and offices for the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology
This project requires a series of approvals from the University of Toronto and the city of Mississauga before it can break ground – a process that UTM has already started.
The university aims to attain approvals from the city early this year, with construction slated to begin in 2022 and finish in 2024. No estimated construction cost has been released.
University of Toronto Mississauga says it is currently undertaking soil tests in the area and informing internal and external communities.
Tammy Cook, Facilities Management and Planning executive director, says that the university is testing and assessing the property to make sure that it is viable for future development.
The university hopes to start site plan approval discussions with the city in early 2021.
