Feedback from the judges: “The Robarts Common provides a very unique, complex and elegant response to the requirement for additional study space adjacent to the John P. Robarts Research Library — an early 1970s brutalist/futurist building predominantly clad in concrete.

The juxtaposition of the new high-performance glass façade with the solidity of the original heritage-listed building is very successfully executed. The design of the triangulated glass façade — a series of faceted planes — pays homage to the triangular geometries which informed the original building design.

Utilization of a unitised aluminum framed glazing system allowed the complex curtain wall to be manufactured in shop and then efficiently installed on site. High-performance IGU are used throughout, complete with a customized ceramic frit. Automatic blinds located on the west façade work to control light spillage into the surrounding neighbourhood and are on sensors activated by sunlight, which work to reduce solar heat gain. There is complex engineering at play here, with the building addition designed as a steel gambrel truss with diagonal braces acting as a five-storey bridge spanning a grade-level loading dock which remained active during construction.

The end result is a new building that provides students and faculty with access to an abundance of collaborative study spaces filled with daylight and strong visual connections back to campus.”