February 22, 2010

Zeidler Partnership Architects, Snohetta chosen to design Ryerson University student centre

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

Construction of a new student learning centre at Toronto’s Ryerson University has moved a step closer to reality with the selection of Toronto’s Zeidler Partnership Architects in association with Snohetta of Oslo and New York City as the co-architects.

“We are very pleased that these two internationally acclaimed firms have formed a partnership to design Ryerson’s new student learning centre,” said president Sheldon Levy.

“In addition to a portfolio of award-winning work, they bring unrivalled knowledge of architectural design, libraries and place-making to a building that will boldly mark Ryerson’s emergence onto Yonge Street.”

The estimated 160,000-square-foot centre will be built at the corner of downtown Yonge and Gould streets. Expected to be 10 floors above grade, the building will be linked to Ryerson’s existing library.

Discussions are underway with the Toronto Transit Commission to link the centre to the nearby Dundas subway station through an on-site entrance.

A Ryerson spokesperson said no design work has been done to date. The design will be developed in consultation with students and the university. A date has not been set for groundbreaking.

Expected to be LEED compliant, the centre will be designed to accommodate different learning styles and teaching practices.

The building will feature “bright, open, technologically rich, barrier-free spaces” for individual and collaborative study. A variety of learning environments, digital support and academic services will promote student learning success and help foster a culture of collaboration and creativity, the university said.

The province is providing $45 million in funding for the project, which is expected to be completed in 2013. The construction budget has not been finalized.

Tarek El-Khatib, senior partner at the Zeidler Partnership, said his firm is looking forward to creating “a meaningful project that will reinforce the image of Ryerson University as a diverse and connected urban institution.”

Established in 1953, Zeidler has won more than 135 national and international awards, most recently for the Canadian diplomatic complex in Seoul, South Korea and the Belleville Public Library.

Snohetta was formed in 1989 in Oslo, Norway. The firm’s work on the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt was so successful that, eight years after opening, the library began charging admission to deal with its high volume of tourists.

The library draws nearly 10,000 visitors a day and was awarded the 2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture and the 2005 World Architecture Award.

Snohetta recently has won commissions for the James B. Hunt Jr. Library in Raleigh, North Carolina and the Rockaway Library in New York City.

“Learning environments are changing radically and becoming ever more integrated in people’s lives,” said Craig Dykers, principal architect and co-founder, Snohetta.

“This particular site at Yonge Street provides the opportunity to make not only a world-class library, but one that can set an example for a new kind of library that connects academic, commercial and public space into a thriving place for social and intellectual activity.

“We are delighted at Snohetta to work together with Zeidler Partnership Architects and Ryerson University to make this happen.”

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