May 21, 2024

The design of the TMU School of Medicine is featured in an article by Wallace Immen for The Globe and Mail.

Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) is transforming the former Bramalea Civic Centre, a suburban municipal building from the 1970s into the home of a new medical school for the future. 

The site, at 150 Central Park Dr., is near two hospitals, allowing students to do rounds and training at William Osler Health System’s Brampton Civic Hospital and Peel Memorial Health Centre.

“The design approach for the new School of Medicine is to transform the brutalist-style predominantly concrete and steel building into an open and adaptable space that is connected with the community and nature and aligns with Indigenous design elements that are being integrated into the plan,” says Don Schmitt, Principal at Diamond Schmitt.

“The challenge becomes creating highly flexible spaces for experiential learning supported by sophisticated technologies in a 50-year-old building originally designed for other purposes. The project requires a substantial removal of interior elements, like partitions that built up over time, to create more open areas,” Mr. Schmitt says. “But the overall structure and architecture of the building is honoured and we’re not adding any new total floor area.”

“TMU has a long-standing commitment to sustainability and the project is designed to LEED standards, aiming to minimize energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions and integrate on-site renewable energy sources,” says Cecily Eckhardt, Principal at Diamond Schmitt. There will be significant upgrading of the 50-year-old exterior walls to make the building more energy-efficient.

The TMU School of Medicine will include teaching spaces, offices, research facilities and an integrated primary care clinic. With plans to achieve LEED standards, the project aims to minimize energy and greenhouse gas emissions and integrate on-site renewable energy sources.

Read the full article in The Globe and Mail here.