The 'great decanting' of the Medical Sciences Building
Image courtesy of Arcadis
Over the past four years, my team has been planning what we call the ‘great decanting’ of the Medical Sciences Building to prepare for the construction of the new James and Louise Temerty Building at the University of Toronto.
Replacing the MSB’s west wing, the new Temerty Building will be home to state-of-the-art facilities for teaching and research, as well as intentionally designed spaces to foster collaboration, innovation and inclusivity.
Before demolition can begin, our office has been focused on three large projects that must be completed to vacate the research and education spaces that currently occupy the west wing.
The first is the recently finished renovation of 777 Bay Street into brand-new office and lab spaces for Temerty staff and researchers. The Office of the Vice Dean, Research and Health Science Education, has already moved into their new offices there, with MedIT following this fall/winter. Several labs and the administrative staff of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology have also relocated to 777 Bay, freeing up space in the MSB for other uses and services which, for various reasons, must remain in the building.
The second project centres on construction of specialized research and training spaces. This work is well underway and includes smaller enabling works for the Temerty Building like the building of new washrooms to replace those in the west wing.
The relocation of the Division of Teaching Labs is the focus of the third project. Spread out over one and a half floors, DTL is currently the largest occupant of the MSB’s west wing. Our team has been working closely with our colleagues in the Faculty of Arts and Science on renovating the Ramsay Wright Laboratories Building to create a vibrant new home for DTL. The updated teaching spaces will more effectively support current pedagogy and meet the needs of today’s, and tomorrow’s, learners. Along with modernized equipment, the new teaching labs will have many accessibility features that were not possible in the current space. These include sufficiently wide doorways and height-adjustable benches and fume hoods for learners who use wheelchairs.
In tackling the complex challenges posed by these projects, our team leaned into the spirit of collaboration and innovation that underlie the vision for the new Temerty Building. I am particularly proud of our success in converting office spaces at 777 Bay into bright and modern research labs. The technological solutions we pioneered with our renovations are leading the way in addressing both the growing demand for lab spaces and rising vacancies in office buildings.
Complementing the ongoing work on the landmark Temerty Building, our office will embark on the creation of a Temerty Faculty of Medicine Facilities Master Plan this fall, with University Planning. This study will review all the Faculty’s space and locations, and will be key to meeting the needs of our learners and researchers now and well into the future.
Heather Taylor, OAA, MRAIC Executive Director, Major Projects and Facilities Management Temerty Faculty of Medicine
