The Instructional Centre at UTM received the Award of Excellence at the 30th annual Mississauga Urban Design Awards competition. The award ceremony was held on November 22 at Mississauga City Hall.
The judging criteria for the Award of Excellence includes community and citywide significance, sustainability, innovation, context, and execution. Jury members said that the eclectic choice of building materials was well executed. The materials included wood, granite, and aged copper, which cohesively complemented the natural setting at UTM, they said.
The 150,000-square-foot facility stands three storeys tall and includes classrooms that range from 30 to 500 seats. The facility also includes multiple study spaces for both individual and collaborative projects.
“I’ve had a class in one of the larger auditoriums and two tutorials in the smaller classrooms, which were all great,” said Megan Janssen, a third-year theatre and drama student. “But I found the architecture a little too masculine, with the concrete lines and so much grey.”
The building cost $70 million and took just under two years to build, beginning in the fall of 2009. It uses photovoltaic panels, a green roof, and a geothermal heating and cooling system located beneath North Field, to be environmentally responsible.
“I think the building is gorgeous,” said Becky Arnott, a third-year French concurrent education student. “The atmosphere is perfect for grabbing a coffee from Second Cup and relaxing on the main floor, or getting some work done in the study rooms on the second floor.”
The Instructional Centre, intended as a modern take on the design of traditional learning facilities, was designed by Shore Tilbe Perkins + Will and built by Eastern Construction.