Nestled at Jokers Hill on the Oak Ridges Moraine in King Township, UofT’s Koffler Scientific Reserve (KSR) reflects the functions of a traditional college (with classrooms, dormitory, bathing facilities, commons rooms, sitting rooms, hall, cloister and quad), and was designed to accommodate research students and faculty for extended periods of time.

With architectural design by Montgomery Sisam Architects, the design is reminiscent of agrarian building forms. It takes the form of a barn that was disassembled, reassembled, and then cut in half, with one part turned around.

The building was also adapted to include lanterns for natural light, overhangs for solar response, covered walkways, and a courtyard.

Extensive climate analysis was conducted to design each facade, incorporating exterior shading to mitigate solar heat gain in the summer, south-facing windows to harness solar heat gain in winter, and reducing peak indoor temperatures by leveraging natural ventilation and thermal mass during the shoulder seasons.

The building’s carbon footprint was reduced by the selection of low-embodied energy materials and renewable resources, such as the mass timber structure and wood interior finishes. Renewable energy resources onsite (the photovoltaic panels on the roofs and the battery storage) will produce and store 100 per cent of the annual electricity required by the building, while excess energy will be fed back to the municipal power grid.

The project is targeting net-zero-carbon, net-zero-energy performance, and LEED Gold.