1 Spadina Crescent, also known as the Daniels Building, is an academic building that houses the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto (U of T) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building is situated in the centre of a roundabout of Spadina Avenue, north of College Street. Its location provides a picturesque vista looking north up Spadina Avenue; it is an axial view terminus for Spadina Avenue.
The parcel of land now known as Spadina Crescent first appeared on maps of Toronto as early as 1835, originally named Mansfield's Old Gardens [1] and then Crescent Garden. [2] The property was originally laid out by Dr. William Baldwin to cut through his family's land holdings. [3] There was an intention for the city to turn this property into a park after Dr. Baldwin's death, but the conditions for this were never met, and his grandchildren sold the land in 1873 to the Hon. J. McMurrich of the Presbyterian Church for $10,000. [2]
A Gothic Revival building designed by architect James Avon Smith was built in 1875 [4] as the home of Knox College, a theological college of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Knox College became affiliated with the University of Toronto in 1887, and it moved to its current location on the west side of King's College Circle in 1914.
During World War I, the building became barracks, and shortly afterward became the Spadina Military Hospital in October 1916. [4] For a period in 1918, Amelia Earhart worked as a nurse's aide at the hospital. It remained a veterans' hospital until 1943, when it was acquired by the University of Toronto's Connaught Medical Research Laboratories, which became one of Canada's main centers for the development and manufacture of pharmaceuticals. The building was in disrepair at this point and needed substantial renovations. It was also around this time that the basement was excavated. [5]
During the 1960s, it was proposed that this building be demolished to make way for the Spadina Expressway, which was never built. It became an academic building again in 1972 with the sale and relocation of the laboratories. The building was home to the Ontario division of the Eye Bank of Canada and to an alternative U of T student weekly newspaper, The Newspaper , which moved because of renovations.
In January 2001, University of Toronto professor David Buller was murdered in his office within the building, and the case remains unsolved. [6]
In June 2013, U of T announced a significant overhaul and renovation of the building, with plans to make it the new home for the Daniels Faculty of Architecture. [7] On December 4, 2015, the Toronto Star published a video by Christopher Hume, its architecture critic, celebrating the building's history and the university's plan to renovate, update and expand the building. [8] The building was subsequently restored and renovated by a team of architects – including heritage architects ERA, as well as design architects Nader Tehrani and Katherine Faulkner of the Boston-based firm NADAAA. The expansion, which was completed in 2017, included a new contemporary glass, concrete and steel addition to the north side. [9] [10]
The expanded portion of the building now offers space for design studios, lounges, a student cafe, workshops and fabrication labs. The historic building was sensitively restored and renovated to accommodate the new library, classes and faculty offices. [10] Toronto-based landscape architecture studio PUBLIC WORK designed the surrounding landscape, which includes native plants and trees such as birch and oak. [10] On the north side are two large berms, a grassy area and a stepped pathway that leads to the fabrication laboratory. [11] The extensive project received several awards for architectural excellence and was published in magazines around the world.
Formerly the site of the Knox College courtyard, The Main Hall is a double-height lecture hall with bleacher-style seating for lectures, performances, and events of up to 400 people. [10] The hall is at the heart of building, accessible via both the historic part of the building at the south side, and via the new east-west internal "street"/corridor in the new building. In 2018, the hall hosted Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Balkrishna Doshi's public lecture about his work and the prize. [12] The hall is adorned with colourful painted plywood walls that add a sense of energy and movement to the space. [11] Above, "a triangular section of stepped seating, like an open stair outside the volume between the second and third floors, overlooks the hall and simultaneously connects to the design studio for graduate students at the top. [10] "
The third-floor graduate design studio is known for its expansive "column-free" space that extends across the entire North side of the building and offers views of the city through a glazed curtain wall. [11] NADAAA architects used gypsum boards to design a dramatic "bow-tie" ceiling made of four scissor trusses and clerestory ceiling openings that bring in natural light. Architect Nader Tehrani was inspired by the Firth of Forth Bridge in Scotland. [10]
The fabrication lab is a double-height workshop and digital laboratory [13] which "offers a variety of computationally controlled technologies, including large 3-axis and 4-axis routers, a fused deposition modelling rapid-prototyping system, a waterjet cutter, a colour 3D printer, a 3D digitizer, a 3D laser scanner, several laser cutters, and a large format vacuum former. [14] " The array of digital tools allow students at the faculty to produce models and various structural elements in wood and metals. [15] The lab is viewable to students and visitors at the building from the east-west "street" that runs through the centre of the building. Double-height garage style doors open to a landscaped courtyard. [15] Adjacent to the lab is the Daniels construction workshop which includes a full metal and woodworking shop, an assembly space, spray booth, and a large array of materials and tools. [14]
The Eberhard Zeidler Library is located in the historic part of the building, on the west side of the first floor. The library is named after architect and Zeidler Partnership founder Eberhard Zeidler. [16] The library offers an extensive collection of books on architecture, landscape architecture, art, and urban design. [17]
The Architecture and Design Gallery is an experimental public gallery dedicated to showcasing and advocating for the important ways that design shapes our cities, landscapes, and daily lives. Located in the lower level of the building, it was renovated from a "concrete shell" into a 7,500 s.f. exhibition venue after the new building opened in 2017. [18] The space launched on November 9, 2019, with the opening of the inaugural installation New Circadia. [19] The gallery is supported by the Estate of James Drewry Stewart and the Government of Canada [20] .
Architecture Masterprize Education Award, 2019
Architecture Masterprize Green Award, 2019
Architectural Conservancy Ontario, Paul Oberman Award for Adaptive Re-use, 2019
Toronto Urban Design Awards, Award of Excellence, 2019
Heritage Toronto Awards, William Greer Built Heritage Award, 2019
SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture for Building Additions or Adaptive Reuse Honor Award, 2019
COTE Top 10, American Institute of Architects, 2019
AIA Education Facilities National Award of Excellence, 2019
Canadian Society of Landscape Architects National Award, 2019
Lt. Governor's Ontario Heritage Award of Excellence in Conservation, 2018
American Architecture Award, Chicago Athenaeum, 2018
Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture, Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize Outstanding Project, 2018
Fast Company Spaces, Places, and Cities Finalist, 2018
Boston Society of Architects Honor Award, 2018
Architect's Newspaper Best of Design Awards Winner in Educational Category and Honorable Mention for Building of the Year, 2018
AIA New York, Architecture Honor Award, 2018
Interior Design Best of Year Award, 2017
The Plan Awards, Honorable Mention, 2017
Canadian Institute of Steel Construction Awards, Award of Excellence, 2017
Society of American Registered Architects National Architecture Award, 2015
Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture & Design: Green Good Design Award, 2014
Holcim Foundation - Sustainability in Architecture Acknowledgment Prize, 2014
Boston Society of Architects: Unbuilt Architecture Award, 2013
57th Progressive Architecture Awards: Award, Architecture (previous site), 2010
Spadina Avenue is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods.
Eberhard Heinrich Zeidler, was a German-Canadian architect. He designed iconic structures and landmarks in Canada and internationally, most notably in Toronto. These included Ontario Place, the Toronto Eaton Centre and the North York Performing Arts Centre, as well as redevelopments of Queen's Quay Terminal and the Gladstone Hotel. His firm also designed Canada Place in Vancouver for Expo 86.
Abel Joseph "Jack" Diamond, was a South Africa-born Canadian architect. Diamond arrived in Canada in 1964 for the University of Toronto. In 1974, he established his architectural practice, A.J. Diamond Architects. This practice evolved into Diamond Schmitt Architects.
B+H Architects or BH Architects is a Canadian architectural and engineering firm headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The firm was founded in 1953 by Sidney Bregman and George Hamann.
The John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design is an academic division at the University of Toronto which focuses on architecture, urban design and art. The Faculty was the first school in Canada to offer an architecture program, and it was one of the first in Canada to offer a landscape architecture program. As of July 2021, its dean is Juan Du.
Mohsen Mostafavi is an Iranian-American architect and educator. Mostafavi is currently the Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. From 2008 through 2019, Mostafavi served as the school's dean.
Zeidler Architecture is an international architecture, interior design, urban design, and master planning firm with four Canadian offices located in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and Victoria. In addition, the firm has locations in Beijing (China); and Berlin (Germany).
The Holcim Awards is an international competition that seeks projects and visionary concepts in sustainable construction – irrespective of scale. A total of USD $1 million in prize money is awarded in each two-year cycle. Eligible for entry are projects in: buildings and civil engineering works; landscape, urban design and infrastructure; and materials, products and construction technologies. The Holcim Awards is conducted by the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction based in Zurich, Switzerland. Entries can only be made online.
Teeple Architects is an architecture firm based in Toronto, Ontario founded by Stephen Teeple, in the year 1989. The firm is known to design several buildings in Canada, that focus on urban development, and sustainable design.
The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction is a non-profit organization. Its goal is to raise awareness of the role that architecture, engineering, urban planning and construction have in achieving a sustainable built future. The organization encourages and rewards sustainable responses to the technological, environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural issues affecting building and construction. The Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction promotes thought leadership on a greener, smarter, circular, and more inclusive built environment.
Nader Tehrani is an Iranian-American designer and educator.
George Baird was a Canadian architect, scholar, and architectural educator. He is widely recognized for his roles as: professor at the Royal College of Art and the Architectural Association School of Architecture, professor and director at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, as well as professor, chair and dean at the University of Toronto Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design. Baird's contributions to the disciplines of architecture and urban design extend from his professional practice, Baird Sampson Neuert Architects, to his theoretical publications on the subject of urban public space. His influential work and passion for architectural academia earned him the 2012 AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education.
Ian MacDonald is a Canadian architect. He studied architecture at the University of Waterloo and graduated in 1978 from Carleton University. He worked for Ronald Thom at the Thom Partnership', where he developed a foundation for his own approach to site, structure and the importance of landscape in architecture. In 1984 he established the firm of Ian MacDonald Architect, best known for its residential projects.
Brigitte Shim, FRAIC, OC, RCA, Hon. FAIA, OAA is a Canadian architect known for her small house designs in Canada and other works in architecture of different scales. Shim is a founding partner of Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, along with her husband, Howard Sutcliffe. Before the establishment of Shim-Sutcliffe Architects in 1994, she was a practicing architect who also taught at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design. She continues to guide young designers as a tenured professor at University of Toronto and as a visiting professor to many other institutions until today. Her works span different scales in architecture, ranging from chairs to public facilities. Her work often shows an interest in the relationship between architecture and nature. Her work has garnered awards such as over a dozen Governor General’s Medals for architecture. Shim is an invested officer of The Order of Canada for her significant contributions to the country.
The Lang Wilson Practice in Architecture Culture (LWPAC) is an architectural firm founded in 1999 by Oliver Lang and Cynthia Wilson. It was first launched in New York City before being permanently based in Vancouver, British Columbia, where it evolved into an interdisciplinary business.
Richard M. Sommer is a Professor of Architecture and Urbanism and the Director of the Global Cities Institute at the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto. From 2009 until 2020, he was the Dean of the Daniels Faculty. Sommer was born in Philadelphia, and now resides in Toronto, Canada. Trained as an architect and urbanist, Sommer is a leader in architectural education and is a designer and scholar of the built environment.
New Circadia (adventures in mental spelunking) was an installation at the University of Toronto's John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design. The installation, which opened on November 7, 2019 and ran through April 2020, was the first exhibition to take place at the Faculty’s Architecture and Design Gallery, located in the lower level of 1 Spadina Crescent. While on display the installation was free and open to the public six days a week. The title New Circadia is a play on the Latin word for daily cycle.
Marie-Odile Marceau is a Canadian architect and partner at McFarland Marceau Architects Ltd. Marceau's career in both the public and private sectors emphasizes sustainability and community centered design. Throughout her career, Marceau has specialized in institutional and recreational facilities, and has received numerous awards for her contributions to sustainable architecture and Indigenous community design.
The Green Roof Innovation Testing Lab is a University of Toronto research facility at the John H. Daniels Faculty for Architecture, Landscape and Design. The only facility of its kind in Canada, the GRIT Lab tests and researches the environmental performance of green roofs, green walls, and solar photovoltaic technologies in Canada to help mitigate climate change.
Gow Hastings Architects is a Canadian architectural firm specializing in post-secondary, commercial, and public buildings. Founded in 2002 by Valerie Gow and Philip Hastings, the Toronto-based firm has designed over 350 teaching and learning spaces for institutions across Ontario.
Christopher Hume on the best reason to come to Spadina Ave. and College St. in 2016.
Media related to 1 Spadina Crescent at Wikimedia Commons