Location: Toronto, Ontario
Architect: Montgomery Sisam Architects Inc. in association with Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

The Myhal Centre heralds a new era in engineering education at the University of Toronto. The 12,920-m2 multidisciplinary teaching and research hub features a progressive blend of formal and informal learning spaces to create an ideal ecosystem for creativity, cross-pollination, and a more complete student life. The building is disciplined in its expression in deference to its many notable neighbours—each façade is a simple yet elegant response to its unique bioclimatic condition. The design conjures a sense of awe in its sophisticated stacking of three major voids topped by six conical light shifts that drive daylight deep into its core.

Photo Credit: Daniel Ehrenworth

Myhal is disciplined in its design in deference to its distinguished context and the impressive program within. It draws inspiration from artist Agnes Martin, whose paintings aspire to a kind of engineering precision while honouring the beautiful chaos of the creative body. Innovation is found in the sophisticated stacking of three major voids: the ‘arena’ on the lower level, the auditorium (seemingly suspended in the entrance hall), and the atrium that rises from Levels 5 to 8. The building also features four unique bioclimatic facades, an innovative combination of natural and mechanical ventilation, and impressive daylighting strategy, including the conical light shafts.


Photo Credit: Adrian Ozimek

Located at the heart of the city centre campus, the eight-storey building is a cube in form, carefully sculpted to maintain sight lines between its notable neighbours. It occupies the last unbuilt site on the university’s main thoroughfare, filling a major void in the urban fabric. The elegance and simplicity of its expression respond to the building’s privileged place without competing with local architectural heritage. Myhal makes a strong contribution to the public realm with a new forecourt, two-storey colonnade and plinth along each of its facades that help weave the building into daily campus life.

Photo Credit: Tom Rideout

With an EUI of 131ekWh/m2, Myhal is the most energy-efficient building on the St. George Campus to date. The bioclimatic design of its four facades enables a unique integration of natural and mechanical ventilation. A flexible structure, high-efficiency systems, local controls, and occupancy sensors allow the building to respond to its inhabitants. An energy dashboard allows operators to monitor performance, fine-tune systems post-occupancy, inform curricula and educate users on intelligent interactions with their environment. Tapping into the University's district energy system, Myhal also has the capacity to further reduce emissions as renewable energy is brought online across campus.

Photo Credit: Tom Rideout

Myhal offers a benchmark in the quantity and quality of informal learning spaces that successfully break down artificial between disciplines, create opportunities for exchange, and support a well-rounded student life. It also offers pioneering, media-rich program facilities that facilitate collaboration, encourage active learning, accelerate innovation, and develop entrepreneurial talent. It offers an unassuming yet enduring expression that has become a beacon of grace and humility in an ever-evolving campus with a rich architectural heritage, as well as a progressive social and environmental mandate that privileges durability, flexibility, indoor environmental quality, accessible design, gender-neutral washrooms, and religious accommodations.

This blOAAg post is part of a series exploring the OAA’s 17 Design Excellence Finalists for 2022, as selected by our jury.
Click here to see other projects from this current award cycle.