University Of Toronto Mississauga William G. Davis Building, Phase 1

The University procured a design and construction management team to guide the renovation from beginning to end. This ensured a strict schedule that was both flexible and controlled. The construction management team was able to strip away the existing building skin to ensure that there were no hidden expenses. This minimized legal disputes, which, in turn, played a key role in the successful delivery of the project.

The design maximizes daylight opportunities to punctuate the building’s large floor plate. Skylights in several areas act as natural light sources which minimize the need for artificial lighting, while also minimizing life-cycle costs. A two-story naturally lit atrium, filled with greenery, adds to the height of spaces throughout the building. The main corridor is enhanced with new interior features and gives many inboard departments direct access to the main student circulation galleria.

The renovation also included circulation space of sufficient width to serve as a venue for a wide variety of university events and exhibits.

Kearns Mancini sought to bring natural light inboard, into a deep floor plate, to complement a revised plan layout in which Administrative offices and the Sociology and Geography departments were located on the plan in an advantageous way; adjusting the placement of programmatic elements according to usage patterns. The largest of the atria acts as a node, through which various departments are accessed.

Smaller skylights were used along ancillary corridors, which plays off the glass walls that define each office along the corridor. These translucent channel glass walls serve to admit light into offices, while animating the relationship between spaces. The Brutalist character of the existing building was sensitively maintained, inasmuch as it formed the ground against which complementary elements were introduced, rather than interruptions in materiality.

Kearns Mancini ensured that the W.G. Davis building Phase 1 renovation would provide for a work environment that would set a standard for future renovations to the remaining portions of the large building. The renovation advocates a sensitive approach that aligns a sustainable design approach with the University’s “Grow Smart, Grow Green” philosophy.