Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport wins prestigious Toronto design award

17/08/2016

The Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport at the University of Toronto received an impressive accolade when it was awarded a 2015 Toronto Urban Design Award during a ceremony held at the Palais Royale in Toronto.

The jury named the Goldring Centre a winner of an Award of Excellence in the Public Building in Context category, citing the elegant design solution that reduced the bulk of the building by “dropping the field house partly below ground and making each large space transparent to the street.” It also lauded the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education’s newest building for its “fine detail in the public realm around the building, from the materials of the emergency exit stairs to the pedestrian routes that slice through the building at ground level.”

“This award is a recognition that the building has made a significant contribution to the city’s urban life, going beyond the programmatic requirements and delivering a sense of place,” said Ted Watson, the partner in charge at MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects (MJMA), the Toronto firm that executed and managed the design led by Patkau Architects of Vancouver. “The Goldring Centre, with its strength and conditioning bleachers, and Varsity Stadium create an urban dialogue that establishes the area as a broader athletic precinct.

“Bloor Street is a very important high [main] street in the city, with its shopping, culture and the arts. This project, which is very public to the street, helps tie the university into that space.”

Although the Goldring Centre is largely a joint venture between Patkau Architects and MJMA, it also involved other firms, including Blackwell Engineering as the structural engineers and PLANT as the landscape architects and EllisDon, as the general contractor. The facility opened to the public in October 2014. It is home to basketball and volleyball courts, exercise facilities, research laboratories, a sport medicine clinic and office spaces that are well used by faculty, staff, students and the public.

“We are incredibly proud of this building, and how the community has responded to its beautiful design. It truly enhances our campus,” said Rosanne Lopers-Sweetman, the chief administrative officer for the Faculty.

“Personally, I appreciate the way the building allows those inside to look out and those outside to observe – and be attracted by – what is going on inside.”

The Toronto Urban Design Awards, which are celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2015, are awarded in alternate years “to acknowledge the significant contribution that architects, landscape architects, urban designers, artists, design students, and city builders make to the look and livability of our city,” states the awards website. They “provide a snapshot of what we have accomplished, enable us to reflect on how we can best contribute to the process of city-building and inspire us to keep raising the bar.” This year’s competition had 90 entrants for its seven categories.

“This a tremendous honour for U of T, the architectural firms, Patkau and MJMA, and builders EllisDon, to be recognized for the vision they had for the Goldring Centre,” said Blake Goldring, whose family was one of the founding benefactors of the building. “The building’s structure and design represent a new paradigm for sport and physical activity in Canada because of the way in which it brings together research, teaching, training, fitness and competition - all in one amazing facility. It’s incredibly exciting to be a part of this legacy.”

The Toronto Urban Design Award isn’t the building’s first accolade. Earlier this year, it was the recipient of a Design Excellence Award from the Ontario Association of Architects.

“Our faculty, staff and students are very proud of the Goldring Centre, the accolades it has received and the vast array of programming it offers,” said Professor Gretchen Kerr, acting dean of the Faculty. “Receiving the Award of Excellence for Public Buildings in Context is a wonderful acknowledgment of the creativity, diligence, and hard work of so many people who helped make this building a reality.”