Oak House is a 23-storey student residence located at the intersection of Spadina Avenue and Sussex Avenue on the University of Toronto’s downtown St. George campus. The project comprises two buildings, a residential tower and a three-storey townhouse, designed to address the growing demand for student housing.

The tower accommodates 508 students in a mix of dorm-style rooms for undergraduates and suite-style units for upper-year and graduate students, while the adjoining townhouse provides housing for University of Toronto faculty.

Along the west side of the tower, alternating floors host lounges and a range of common rooms including yoga studios, movie rooms, and large communal kitchens—creating vibrant hubs of student activity. A three-storey podium houses retail space, residence administration offices, a large cafeteria, a publicly bookable multi-purpose room, and a variety of student lounge, study and work areas. This cluster of amenities is intended to draw students from their rooms and encourage interaction with others while they are living away from home.

At the corner of Spadina and Sussex, a retained heritage building has been carefully integrated into the podium. Informing Oak House’s materiality—a combination of precast concrete fins and brick veneer—and massing, it connects the project in its historic urban context. The design transitions from the vertical tower to the lower-scale townhouse, aligning with the rhythm of neighbouring high-rises along Spadina and stepping down toward the surrounding residential area to the west.

Sustainability is central to Oak House’s design, which targets LEED Silver certification and is compliant with the Toronto Green Standard Tier 1. A geothermal system produces more heating and cooling capacity than the building requires and will eventually feed excess energy back across Spadina into the university’s central plant. Additional features include a high-performance building envelope, green roofs, rainwater harvesting, and energy-efficient systems.

By balancing heritage preservation, modern amenities, and environmental responsibility, Oak House creates a dynamic, inclusive, and sustainable living environment that strengthens connections between students, faculty, and the surrounding neighbourhood.