Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus Phase 1

Located in the MaRS Discovery District, among the country’s largest concentration of student and faculty-led start-ups, the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus adds new significance to Toronto’s leading reputation as the place-to-be for groundbreaking disruptive research, new technology and ingenious solutions to the world’s biggest challenges.

• Positioned at the north-east corner of University and College–the apex of Canada’s Hospital Row–the campus will be developed in two phases, totalling 650K SF of Research & Development, Wet-lab, and Life Sciences space.
• The West tower was completed in October 2023 and is composed of 250K SF of multifunctional and configurable space spanning 13 stories.
• The East Tower is currently undergoing development planning, with the Banting Institute’s demolition scheduled to begin in 2025.
• The campus co-locates the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, the Vector Institute, Medicine by Design, U of T’s Entrepreneurship Office, ONramp, and U of T-founded start-ups alongside other AI, biotech and entrepreneurial entities. The campus has formed a cluster of cross-disciplinary strengths and activity not found anywhere else in Canada.
• The construction of the campus was made possible by the generous $100M donation from Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman.

• Frequent networking socials, events and programming, and public peer seminars facilitate meaningful community-building. An epicentre of ideas, users rub shoulders with Canada’s leading-edge companies every day.
• Flexible floor plates provide opportunities to expand organizational teams with configurable step-up space for scaling companies
• 3-story atrium featuring a grab-and-go KIBO Market café with a full-service restaurant coming soon
• Rentable auditorium and conference spaces. Event Spaces are bright and welcoming with a capacity of up to 462 people and flexible layout options. Learn more here.
• To encourage cross-collaboration, programmatic shared spaces are distributed vertically through the building. Seven meeting rooms are available for building users to reserve or external visitors to rent. Learn more here.
• Two multi-story winter gardens dissolve indoor/ outdoor boundaries, creating conditions for chance encounters and conversations that spark innovation. The private wrap-around patios overlooking Queens Park and College street regularly host a vibrant ecosystem of Canadian AI companies and industry events
• State-of-the-art destination dispatch elevators and 24-hour security personnel on site

The Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus’ proximity to U of T’s Computer Science, Medicine and Engineering buildings, MaRS, and some of North America’s most respected research and teaching hospitals opens doors to the opportunity of collaborating with the research, learning and commercialization partnerships already taking place on campus.

• Top 5 University-managed business incubators in the world (UBI Global)
• #1 in Canada for research-based startups (Maclean’s national reputation rankings)
• 650+ investor-backed startups created
• 9,000+ jobs created by U of T startups
• $3B investments raised by U of T-affiliated startups over the past decade

Environmental

The overall sustainability target is equivalent to LEED Gold; strategies include radiant floor heating, solar photovoltaic energy, highly reduced lighting loads due to the excellent daylighting opportunities achieved through floor-to-ceiling windows, and heat recovery and stormwater capture and reuse.

Rainwater capture and reuse exclusively for irrigation. Positioned on the 13th floor, the system incorporates a 2,000-gallon cistern to collect and repurpose rainwater for the building’s green roof. A second water recycling system is in the first underground parking level and is dedicated to ground-level irrigation.

By optimizing rainwater for irrigation, the university not only conserves valuable water resources but also reduces its environmental footprint. The targeted approach to sustainable water management supports the growth and maintenance of green spaces within the urban campus, enhancing both its ecological value and aesthetic appeal. These systems exemplify how tailored, purpose-driven solutions can contribute to sustainable urban development, showcasing the practical and environmental advantages of intelligent water reuse.

The building cladding is an innovative design, interpreting a variety of facade elements from other institutional buildings in the area, designed to assist in reaching the overall University goal to reduce energy use to 20% or more below ASHRAE-2013.

Social

Two multi-storey winter garden spaces, on the 7th and 10th floors, provide additional informal collaboration and presentation areas for all building users, with access to adjacent roof terraces and provide views to the City core and the adjacent Legislature buildings.

A group of public engagement and shared spaces on the lower floors, including large event spaces, instructional rooms, seminar rooms and an exhibition lobby, will foster collaboration, encourage exchange and build a community of innovators.

The U of T commercial partner spaces include a mixture of private and open office areas, meeting rooms, wet and dry labs and shared collaboration areas.

Governance

Groups of users working in similar fields are interspersed throughout the building to encourage further synergies for the development of innovative products and services.

SR West is a building focused on fostering innovation within the AI sector. All occupants and commercial partners have a focus on advancing AI, biomedicine, or other disruptive technologies.

Partners

• Architects: Teeple Architects Inc. and Weiss/Manfredi
• Construction: EllisDon
• Donation: Gerald Schwartz and Heather Reisman
• Leasing: Real Estate Partnerships, U of T

Press

2024 Architectural Record – Colleges & Universities issue. Toronto has recently been recognized as a key hub for technological innovation in North America, and the SRIC Campus represents a real opportunity to solidify its status. Despite the challenges of detailing an intricate façade and coordinating construction during a global shutdown, the building emerges as a striking departure from traditional commercial typologies in the city, championing an ambitious example of the value of great design.

More Press: Weiss/Manifredi Press

Awards

Noted by Weiss Manfredi