University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Sheet Metal Contractor

Semple Gooder Roofing Corporation
Toronto, Ontario

Sheet Metal Contractor

Heather & Little Limited
Toronto, Ontario

General Contractor

EllisDon Limited, Inc.
Toronto, Ontario

General Contractor

Carillion
Concord, Ontario

Rustic copper wall cladding gives this Canadian University a refined look while ensuring the building's structural longevity. The University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) is the first new university to be established in Ontario in 35 years. The vision of the UOIT is one of an innovative and market-oriented institution, pursuing inquiry, discovery and application through excellence in teaching and learning, value-added research and vibrant student life. Its design presented Diamond and Schmitt Architects with a rare opportunity to develop a model sustainable academic community from first principles.

The overriding goal of the campus' design was to create a sustainable campus that limits energy and resource consumption while at the same time providing a supportive and inspiring environment for students. Great effort was made to create an organization of compact and efficient buildings that were integrated into a coherent vision of the campus. The buildings enclose the primary space of the campus that includes for a formal landscaped quadrangle and an informal park space. These elements are interconnected with landscaped routes and covered colonnades between the buildings. The organization of the buildings on the campus was devised to preserve site area and to promote an urban setting for students, while also establishing a sustainable connection to the Oshawa Creek Ravine.

With UOIT being a new university, it was critical that the materials chosen to clad its buildings contribute to establishing the campus identity through a coherent aesthetic, balancing the need for both variety and consistency. Notwithstanding programmatic differences, all structures share a common vocabulary of warm red brick, extensive glazing and copper cladding in a myriad of forms.

Copper is used at several scales and in a variety of ways within the design of the project. On one hand it is grand and elemental to the facades, binding the campus together; while on the other hand it is used to add subtle detail to the architecture. Integrated into wall cladding systems, soffits systems, roofing systems, and articulated copper plate appear in architectural detail.

Both flat seam and standing seam detailing was utilized within the rain-screen cladding systems and soffit systems. The cladding is typically mounted off of concrete masonry units with an assembly of galvanized adjustable z-girts and perforated acoustic deck to accommodate ventilation within the wall assembly. Integrating both air/vapor barrier and semi-rigid insulation, the wall assemblies present a robust, energy efficient and durable cladding system. Delicately detailed window copings and sills were integrated into the triple glazed curtain-wall systems with special attention paid to the isolation of the copper and aluminum.

The curved copper dormers are detailed utilizing a standing seam roofing system to form the distinctive rhythms that form the campus core. Throughout the campus, low-slope copper standing roofing with welded seams have been integrated into roof-scapes that are overlooked by the campus's buildings making these surfaces the fifth elevation of the buildings.

Lastly, copper was used to bring a fine level of architectural articulation to the buildings envelope. Utilizing 6mm thick copper plate, architectural reveals, copings, guards, handrails, scuppers and sill projections have been extensively integrated into both the buildings and the landscape elements. The campus design at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology constitutes a comprehensive strategy to employ integrated sustainable building and site practices on a large scale. The entire complex is designed to meet the LEED Gold standard of environmental design and the long lifespan of copper ensures a "long-service life" consistent and supportive of this goal.

The use of copper is a universal theme throughout the designs for individual campus buildings, helping to unify them into a collegiate whole. Copper, with its variations in color, contributes to a warm, welcoming color palette which is key to the new institution's identity.

Architectural Categories: Standing Seam Roofs and Walls, Flat Seam Roofs and Walls