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U of T: Rotman Expansion/Ctr for Jurisdictional Advantage and Prosperity (KPMB)

It appears as if the large stuff is coming to an end. Late last week they took down the majority of the hoarding and replaced it with a small chain-link fence. The cladding looks to be complete around the whole building as well.
Their attention has turned to the house. They've dug a massive hole in front of it right up to the foundation, any ideas as to what that is about?
 
This will look a lot better, as Slim mentioned, when the house is cleaned up. Add some greenery/lanscaping, new paving stones, and a steady stream of students and I think the effect will be surprisingly pleasant. They did a good job integrating an old heritage home with a new structure just down the road at the Bahen Centre. I would expect this to meet the same standard.

All that aside, this is a university. If they were doing things that weren't somewhat puzzling on their face or experimental/progressive, particularly with science/tech/business buildings, I'd be more concerned. Buildings on university campuses have always, and should always embody the vanguard of thought of the times more than those of any other institution. Theory is absolutely paramount. Daring students are inspired in part by daring buildings. Aesthetic risk-taking and positivism go hand in hand.
 
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As a U of T student, I'm very glad they kept the house. Those old and beautiful heritage structures are one of the most defining features of the University of Toronto, and one aspect that no other universities in the GTA will ever be able to compete with.
 
I think it's turning out decent since the tall part of the complex is set far back from the front facade of the house due to the full preservation of the house. The house retains its grand presence and the scale of the new glass cube beside it seems to retain a cohesiveness to the campus streetscape.

I'm concerned as to how the sidewalks will look when the project is completed. They should be restored to the design of the late-1990s reconstruction of St. George, with similar-sized trees for a cohesive and high-quality public realm. The Max Gluskin House development's public realm landscaping turned out to be underwhelming, with trees seemingly missing and a cheap concrete curb where one expects the same substantial concrete framing of the sloped lawns with the trees (a signature element of the 90s reconstruction design).
 
Hey all - long time lurker, first time poster! :cool:

Taken from the 13th floor of beautiful robarts library - work well underway on the green roof.

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This thing does not even ATTEMPT to meet the street in a friendly manner. :( Disappointing in that respect. It ruins for me what otherwise has some pretty cool ideas at work.
 
The glass is up and there's no entrances to the building under the glass "box", so I have a pretty close (85% finished) idea of what the ground level is going to be like.

There's no detail along the sidewalk, no differentiation along that stretch to break up the monotony and create interest... just a smooth wall of dark glass. And that's how renderings also show it will end up.
 
I can clearly see one entrance to the building under the north end of the box, and most of the rest of the area under the box will be taken up by that lightwell to the basement level. I believe there's also a pedestrian walkway under the south end of the box, so what more do you want?
 
Are you asking me? ^ ^ More variation on ground level than just a straight, uninterrupted wall of glass.

Alas, I was walking past this on my way home last night and it was looking very slick at night. (The upper portion specifically).
 
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