University of Toronto – University College Revitalization & Infrastructure

University College is well known as 15 King’s College Circle, and is situated near the central area of the St. George Campus at the University of Toronto. The building was constructed around 1856 and was the earliest academic building constructed on the campus. This facility is on the City of Toronto’s Heritage Register and designated as a National Historic Site by Parks Canada.

The College consists of 3-storeys and a basement and is used as classrooms, lecture halls, offices, and event spaces. The building is arranged around an inner courtyard. This project involves the revitalization of the College’s building through strategic planning and analysis to better serve its undergraduate students, increase teaching facilities, increase barrier-free accessibilities, and accentuate the beauty of this heritage building.

The scope of work for this project included a partial renovation of the south and west wings of the building to best serve its students and faculty. The testing and inspection scope for this project was related to classroom renovations, conversion of Croft Chapter House into a new conference centre on the south-west side of the building, renovation of the West Hall and construction of a new mezzanine for the new relocated library at the East Hall. Renovations included the office spaces on the second floor and a third floor classroom which was turned into a student café. One of the requirements of this project was to increase barrier-free accessibility with the construction of new ramps through the south-west wing and a new elevator tower at the central tower. Electrical and mechanical infrastructure were upgraded, with the inclusion of a new generator, chiller and cooling tower as a part of the updated mechanical systems.

This exceptional heritage renovation project is the recipient of the:

• 2021 Ontario Library Association Library Architectural and Design Transformation Award
• 2021 Architectural Conservancy Ontario (ACO) Heritage Award
• 2021 Architectural Conservancy Ontario (ACO) Peter Stokes Restoration Award: Large-Scale/Team/Corporate

This virtual tour courtesy of University of Toronto enables all to visit this exciting project.