Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/354800
Deerfield Hall – University of Toronto Mississauga by Angela Altass COURTESY PERKINS + WILL T he construction of Deerfield Hall at the University of Toronto Missis- sauga (UTM) is the initial phase of replacing the oldest structure on the 3359 Mississauga Road campus in Mis- sissauga, Ontario. "Deerfield Hall is phase one of the reconstruction of the old, temporary North Building," says Paul Donoghue, chief administrative officer of the UTM. "About one-third of the two-storey North Building was demolished to accommodate the new, separate, four- storey structure that will be joined to the old building on two levels. The remainder of the original building is still in use until such time as the UTM is in a position to undertake phase two." Deerfield Hall will accommodate the departments of mathematical and comput ational science, psycholog y and rehearsal space for the theatre and drama program. Progress on the project has been exceptional, says Donoghue. "Architec- turally, the building is quite stunning," he says. "The extensive use of natural materials reflects other recent build- ings and the remarkable natural setting of the campus." The development of a master plan approach for a multi-phased project was a challenge, says Andrew Frontini, design director, principal and lead design architect, Perkins+Will. "Without knowing the exact require- ments of the future phase, we had to design a stand-alone building that could connect to future phases, as well as set out the logic for completing this part of the campus," says Frontini. "We wanted to establish the key design principles for both phases. Our vision was of an articu- lated campus wall with multiple connec- tions and view corridors between the outer circle road and the campus green. The design for Deerfield Hall establishes the first of these connections with two wings of program space flanking a com- mon atrium." The materiality of Deerfield Hall is an integral part of the design concept and the project's role in the completion of the master plan, says Frontini. " UTM has evolved in several stages with different eras of architecture with its own mate- rial expression appearing at different locations of the campus," says Frontini. It has taken a lot of work to arrive at a design that is substantial on its own, yet ties together the campus in an elegant way, says Eric Zvaniga, project man- ager, Eastern Construction Company Limited. "The most difficult challenge was developing a concept that suited the campus and brought balance to the buildings on the north end of the cam- pus," says Zvaniga. The design features a terracotta rainscreen cladding with a range of natural clay colours arranged in a var- iegated vertical pattern. The project is targeted to achieve a minimum of LEED Silver certification with testing by HRCx Building Services to ensure that the building is in accor- dance with the qualifications. "We are testing the major energy consuming systems including air han- dling equipment, pumping systems, air delivery VAV boxes, room temperature control, radiant panels and the lighting control system. The testing procedure includes validating that each system is installed and functioning in accordance with design," says Steve Taylor, princi- pal, HRCx Building Services." Some of the key structural features include a structural steel feature stair- case and woodgrain characteristic exposed concrete finishes, says Kevin Ng, project manager, exp Services Inc. The electrical design features the inclusion of a new data centre that will become the future centre of the information technology systems for the entire campus, says Joseph Guiyab, electrical project manager, Crossey Engineering Ltd. "The lighting design features the use of LED fixtures for all downlights within the building," says Guiyab. "The exterior lighting also utilizes LED sources. The atrium lighting design has incorporated the use of stage lighting fixtures to link the atrium with the building's role as the new home of the theatre depart- ment. We have incorporated the use of large four-foot circular skylight-style fixtures in the atrium to support the feel of bringing light in from outside." LOCATION 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario OWNER University of Toronto Mississauga ARCHITECT Perkins+Will CONSTRUCTION MANAGER Eastern Construction Company Limited STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT exp Services Inc. MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Crossey Engineering Ltd. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Fleisher Ridout Partnership Inc. COMMISSIONING CONSULTANT HRCx Building Services (a division of Hidi Rae Consulting Engineers Inc.) LEED CONSULTANT Zon Engineering Inc. TOTAL AREA 10,400 square feet TOTAL COST $45 million The building utilizes a high differ- ential temperature hot water heating system that utilizes cascading heat exchangers to maximize the efficiency of the district energy condensing boiler plant and minimizes the size of the district heating piping and pumping energy required, says Andrew Cassidy, VP and principal, Crossey Engineering Ltd. "New hot water heating and chilled water cooling systems were installed in Outer Circle Road from the central utility plant to the new building," says Cassidy. "To minimize energy costs, a heat recovery enthalpy wheel was pro- vided to recover heat from the exhaust air. Radiant floor heating was used in public spaces and all of the air distribu- tion and hydronic heating and cooling systems were designed with variable volume distribution. A highly efficient building envelope utilizing solar con- trol glazing with low E coating and a R20 wall were used to minimize heat- ing and cooling loads." The atrium is passively cooled by transferring return air from the occu- pied spaces through the atrium prior to returning the air to the air handling units through louvers at the top of the atrium. Co-ordinating with the structural requirements of the rehearsal halls was a challenge, but ever yone is pleased with the end result. "As a Bu i ld i ng In for mat ion Model l i ng- designed building , this project has allowed us to implement an innova- tive mechanical and electrical build- ing information modelling platform. We deter mined opt imal solut ions to design issues and the sof t ware allowed for the seamless and effective transfer of information throughout the design team," says Guiyab. n AUGUST 2014 /103 Deerfield Hall – University of Toronto Mississauga 1:59 PM