The William G. Davis Building (commonly known as the Davis Building) is the main administrative building on the University of Toronto's Mississauga campus in Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1973 as the South Building, it is the largest building on the campus, designed as a megalithic Brutalist structure by Raymond Moriyama. It houses the offices of the campus principal and dean, alongside various academic departments, student services, laboratories, lecture halls, and a food court.[1][2]
The Davis Building is the oldest purpose-built structure on the Mississauga campus. It is one of two original buildings present in the years following the campus's establishment as Erindale College in 1967, the other of which was the North Building, demolished in 2015.[3] It is named after former Ontario premier and education ministerWilliam "Bill" G. Davis.[4]
History
The Meeting Place, which houses the Davis Food Court.
In 1967, the North Building was created as a temporary academic facility which opened for the establishment of Erindale College. As it was only meant to be temporary, Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama was set to plan a "central mega-structure" for the campus as one of his first major commissions. Moriyama planned for the South Building to be one central building that would hold all academic facilities, thus preserving the campus's natural state.[1]
It was constructed in 1973 on the west bank of the Credit River and north of Wilson Pond, primarily out of exposed concrete in a Brutalist style similar to the Andrews Building on the Scarborough campus, built around the same time.[1]
The building housed the majority of the campus library's collection until 2006 with the opening of the Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre.[1] It has received multiple renovations and expansions, including the addition of the Recreation, Athletics and Wellness Centre (RAWC) in 2005 and the Science Building in 2024, which were built into the south and east sides of the Davis Building respectively. Renovations to fill the freed space from the relocated library was undertaken by Kearns Mancini Architects and completed in 2009. Space on the second (ground floor) and third floors were converted into extra classrooms and faculty and administrative office spaces. Both Departments of Sociology and Geography, Campus Safety services, and offices for executive faculty were also allocated to this section.[5]
The South Building was renamed in 2009 in honour of William G. Davis, a University of Toronto alumnus who served as Ontario minister of education from 1964–1971, and premier of Ontario from 1971–1985. Davis is credited for his influence on education in the province.
In 2024, a Student Services Hub was added in the building which houses a "Hello Desk" and various student services departments, including UTM Accessibility Services and the UTM Career Centre.[6]
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