{"id":17424,"date":"2022-10-24T13:38:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-24T17:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eraarch.ca\/?p=17424"},"modified":"2023-02-10T09:44:18","modified_gmt":"2023-02-10T13:44:18","slug":"university-college-revitalization-and-accessibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eraarch.ca\/2022\/university-college-revitalization-and-accessibility\/","title":{"rendered":"University College: Revitalization and Accessibility\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The University College is an architectural gem within the already famously picturesque University of Toronto campus. In a way, it’s the centre of the university, and when you look north up King’s College Road, your view terminates in what ERA’s Max Berg calls a \u201cpostcard building\u201d from the 1850s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been home to a library, a museum, a chemistry lab, and various class space. It survived a fire in the 1890s, and major renovations in the 1970s, with wings being added over time, and major interior and functional changes occurring throughout the building’s history. But the time has come, once again, to reimagine the building \u2014 especially where accessibility is concerned \u2014 while still maintaining its charm and style. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt’s basically in the building’s DNA to be inaccessible because of the design sensibilities of the time,\u201d says Berg, a project manager with ERA since 2012. \u201cIt has meandering circulation paths and this appreciation for light and darkness and shadow. It’s Richardsonian Romanesque with a heavy medieval influence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Berg says while there was an elevator installed in the ’60s, a person in a wheelchair today would have to take a long, counterintuitive route to access certain parts of the building. So major work needed to be done to the interior, and a new elevator tower was necessary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given the historic importance of the building, in association with Kohn Shnier Architects (KSA), ERA brought a team with vast areas of expertise to the project to ensure that from cultural interpretation and design to technical execution the renovations were complimentary to the existing fabric. University College has a long history of innovation, now also reflected in its revitalization, expanding use to fulfill the needs for modern students and faculty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n