Toronto, Ontario, Canada – ZAS Architects, in collaboration with Denmark-based CEBRA Architecture, has unveiled the design for a new student-centred learning and support hub at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus (UTSC). The new facility – Instructional Centre Phase 2 (IC-2) – is a dynamic learning landscape that promotes agile and asynchronous education through a complex arrangement of rooms and open public spaces spanning multiple floors. “We envisioned a truly flexible environment that broke down traditional pedagogies and instead, encouraged a fluid learning experience unconfined by the walls of the classroom,” said Paul Stevens, Founder, and Senior Principal at ZAS Architects. “Peer-to-peer learning is emulated in all aspects of the design.”

Artificially-created terrain spills from the outside in, creating a hybrid of social and study areas that stimulate and support vibrant campus life. Students have access to a multitude of flexible, technology-enabled spaces, including 21 classrooms of various sizes and configurations ranging from a 500-seat auditorium to smaller 24-seat active learning environments.

The framed grid that forms the building's facade creates a design that combines various volumes, scales, surfaces and spatial qualities. Inspired by the form of Printer's Tray predominantly used during the 19th Century, the building's four distinct facades mirror the tray's compartments and represent the diversity of spaces and educational environments within.