New Centre is the Green Feather in Lassonde Institute’s Cap
In May 2009 the University of Toronto announced the $20-million expansion of the historic downtown Mining Building, a massive brick and stone structure that has stood at the corner of College St. and King’s College Road since 1904. Since its opening it has been at capacity, owing to an ever-expanding faculty and Ontario’s continued need for innovative research in applied sciences and engineering.
The latest round of renovations, estimated to be complete by 2012, will see the creation of the Innovation Centre for the Canadian Mining Industry – a project funded in joint partnership between the Government of Canada and private donations. The Centre will add space for new laboratories in visualization and data analysis, research space for graduate students, an interdisciplinary undergraduate design studio and space for faculty offices.
The expansion is the latest step in the revitalization of the Lassonde Mineral Engineering Program, an undergraduate program housed in the Department of Civil Engineering and its world-leading research affiliate, the Lassonde Institute. Mr. Pierre Lassonde, mining entrepreneur, philanthropist and namesake to both has announced his intention to make them one of the top five mining research centres in the world.
Altogether, the work being done at the Innovation Centre for the Canadian Mining Industry will house new learning space for 100 undergraduate and 27 graduate students.
The construction project was driven primarily by the need for new space – something that can be hard to come by in the middle of Canada’s largest city. In serendipitous fashion, though, the Mining Building’s top floor - until now an abandoned attic and secretive meeting space for the Engineering Society’s Cannon Guard - turned out to be full of potential.
The building will serve not only as a model for urban space reclamation, but for the possibilities that innovative, environmentally friendly retrofits hold for even the most historic of urban structures.
Professor Brenda McCabe, Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering, the Department primarily responsible for the Centre, reflects on the vision behind the construction: “Our primary objectives in this project were to ensure that this becomes a space of which the collaborating Departments and stakeholders can be proud. It is not only functionally flexible, but will demonstrate responsible design as well.”
Indeed, the latest in green building techniques are at the core of the work being done here. Old timber being removed to open up space is being reused in the furniture. Lead paint and asbestos are being entirely removed and safely disposed of. The building envelope, which holds in heat and energy, is being redeveloped in a way which maintains the historic structure while cutting back dramatically on heating and energy costs. New, energy-efficient windows are going in. Solar panels will cover the roof and south-facing vertical walls. Even rainwater will be collected and used in landscape irrigation.
The project is sure to be the “green” feather in the cap of the Lassonde Institute, the University of Toronto’s research organization dedicated to making mining safer, cleaner, and more sustainable.
Visitors to the site won’t need to be engineers to notice the difference. A “dashboard” display will allow people to clearly see the energy being used and generated building-wide. The Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering will be applying for LEED Certification as part of the construction process.
And what of the Cannon Guard’s historic connection? Even their art will be preserved using a unique sealant and photographic display: a respectful appreciation of the engineering community’s traditions amidst ongoing urban renewal.
For more information on the Innovation Centre for the Canadian Mining Industry, the Lassonde Institute, the Lassonde Mineral Engineering Program or the Department of Civil Engineering, please contact Colin Anderson, Communications and Student Programs Coordinator, at (416) 978-0945 or colin@civ.utoronto.ca
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