IN THE MATTER OF THE ONTARIO
HERITAGE ACT
R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER O.18 AND
CITY OF TORONTO, PROVINCE OF ONTARIO
150 COLLEGE STREET
(MEDICAL SCIENCES BULDING – 1
KING’S COLLEGE CIRCLE)
NOTICE OF INTENTION TO DESIGNATE
THE PROPERTY
TAKE NOTICE that Council for the
City of Toronto intends to designate the property, including the lands, buildings
and structures thereon known municipally as 150 College Street (Medical
Sciences Building – 1 King’s College Circle) under Part IV, Section 29 of the
Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.O.18, as amended, as a property of
cultural heritage value or interest.
Reasons for Designation
Description of the Property subject of this
By-law
The subject property is defined to include the
“Medical Sciences Building” which fronts onto King’s College Circle, extending
from King’s College Road to Queen’s Park Crescent West, and comprises a
sprawling, concrete-clad institutional building complex constructed between
1966 and 1970 with a raised outdoor terrace and a forecourt containing a
freestanding concrete sculpture. The subject property is located within the
University of Toronto’s St. George Campus at 150 College Street and is
identified by its convenience address of 1 King’s College Circle. The asymmetrical and articulated massing of the Medical
Sciences Building generally varies between three and six storeys above grade,
with an additional two levels comprising a mechanical penthouse on the tower
wings. It is situated among a collection of buildings, many of which are
interconnected, that form a biomedical and health sciences precinct in the
southeast area of the campus between College Street and King’s College Circle.
Design and Physical Value
The subject property has design and physical
value as a unique example of precast concrete construction in Ontario. The
sculptural quality of this material is visible in the distinctive precast
panels that comprise large portions of the building envelope of the Medical
Sciences Building and by several integrated precast artworks that elevate the
design excellence of this Modernist complex. The subject property serves as a
significant example of this architectural material, helping to highlight and
promote the versatility and sculptural possibilities of concrete that were
being explored in the field of architecture and design during the late 1960s.
The subject property demonstrates a high degree
of craftsmanship and artistic merit through the design and fabrication of the
precast concrete panels and sculptures, which were produced through a
collaborative process involving sculptors Robert Downing and Ted Bieler, the
project architects (Govan, Kaminker, Langley, Keenleyside, Melick, Devonshire
and Wilson with Somerville, McMurrich & Oxley, including Peter Goering),
and Beer Precast, a prominent local precast manufacturing company. Structural
considerations of framing the window openings and manufacturing capabilities
influenced the design of the precast concrete cladding panels from the outset,
resulting in a collection of several patterned and highly three-dimensional
variations of modular components that could be efficiently installed on site.
Similarly, the artworks in precast concrete integrated into the east and
north exterior walls of the lobby (Cube Wall and Medallion), the
terrace (Muskoka Piece), and forecourt (Helix of Life) by the
same artists were conceived with consideration for ease of installation as well
as the location of each piece within the complex. In part for his contributions
to the subject property, Bieler was awarded the 1969 RAIC Allied Arts Medal for
outstanding achievement for artwork designed to be integrated with
architecture.
The Medical Sciences Building also demonstrates
technical expertise in its construction methods as an early application of
rainscreen principles in the detailing of its envelope design. The concept of
an air cavity with means of equalizing the air pressure between the cavity and
the exterior to prevent the ingress of water was first presented in a National
Research Council of Canada publication in 1963. These concepts were
increasingly researched and evaluated through the 1970s, making the Medical
Sciences Building, constructed between 1966 and 1970 to the designs of Govan,
Kaminker, Langley, Keenleyside, Melick, Devonshire and Wilson with Somerville,
McMurrich & Oxley, among the first major buildings in Canada to incorporate
this technology. An innovative approach was also applied to the planning and
management of the project, led by Canadian Bechtel Limited. They adopted a fast
track project delivery method for construction before it was commonplace in the
institutional sector by overlapping between the demolition, design, and
construction phases of the project, thereby completing the complex ahead of the
project schedule.
Historical and Associative Value
Through its physical form as a Modernist
complex, the subject property is directly associated with the University of
Toronto’s (U of T) expansion during the 1960s, a period in which the U of T
developed into a globally leading centre of teaching and research among public
universities. It reflects the design principles that characterise this period
through its materiality and functional massing. By enabling the expansion of
programs in the medical field and consolidating related biomedical disciplines
with similar programmatic requirements within a single research facility, the
Medical Sciences Building was foundational in the establishment and growth of
the system of teaching hospitals affiliated with U of T. It is also
representative of a broader theme of large-scale academic building projects
that occurred in response to increased demands for access to post-secondary
education across Canada, particularly in healthcare education as Canada worked
towards establishing a universal, publicly funded healthcare system.
The subject property reflects the work of
Canadian artists Ted Bieler and Robert Downing, who each made significant
contributions to the visual arts in Ontario. Bieler had a long career as an
educator and completed a number of commissions for large-scale public art in
Toronto and elsewhere. In the years prior to the work for the Medical Sciences
Building, he created several sculptural concrete pieces for Expo 67 in
Montreal. Downing, who worked for a time as Bieler's assistant, was the first
Canadian artist to hold a solo show at a major European art gallery, the
renowned Whitechapel Gallery in London, England. Held in 1969, the exhibition
comprised a study of cube-oriented geometry through 108 sculptural works, which
became his most well-known project among his body of work. Two of the pieces
created for the Medical Sciences Building, Rolling Cube and Cube Wall,
were part of this series.
The subject property also demonstrates the work
of Beer Precast, the country's foremost fabricator of precast concrete products
in the 1950s - 1970s. The company was known for their innovation in developing
new products as well as manufacturing processes that still enabled a high
degree of customization, during an era when concrete was becoming more widely
used in the construction industry. Along with the Medical Sciences Building,
their well-known projects include the Beth David Synagogue (1957), the CIBC Building
in Montreal (1960-61), and Toronto City Hall (1959-1964). In 1967, the company
received an award from the Ontario Government for its leading role in the
precast concrete industry.
Contextual Value
Contextually, the subject property is valued for
supporting and maintaining the institutional character of the southeast corner
of St. George Campus, a longstanding site providing space and facilities
dedicated to science, engineering, and medical research and teaching. Fronting
onto King's College Circle, the Medical Sciences Building's articulated massing
defines the northern boundary of a biomedical and health sciences hub within
this precinct, which generally comprises the buildings on the north side of
College Street up to King's College Circle, and from Queen’s Park Crescent West
to King's College Road, which functions as the ceremonial entrance to St.
George Campus. Through its monumentality and architectural design, the Medical
Sciences Building, which spans eastward to Queen's Park Crescent West, supports
and maintains the institutional and ceremonial character encircling the Queen's
Park’s Legislative Assembly of Ontario and the ceremonial character extending
north from University Avenue to the viceregal suite of the Lieutenant Governor
of Ontario.
As a purpose-built medical research and teaching
facility, the subject property is historically linked to its surroundings
within the southeast corner of St. George Campus, a use that has historically
anchored this precinct of the University. Within the St. George Campus, the
area in which the Medical Sciences Building is situated is also the closest in
proximity to University Avenue, where several of the research and teaching
hospitals affiliated with the University are located.
Through its prominent location on King's College
Circle, monumental scale, and distinctive appearance defined by its sculptural
precast cladding, the subject property has contextual value as a landmark not
only on the St. George Campus, but also within the city of Toronto.
Heritage Attributes
Design and Physical Value
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the cultural heritage value of the subject property as being a unique example
of sculptural precast concrete that elevates the design excellence of this
Modernist complex with a high degree of artistic merit and craftsmanship, and
demonstrative of a high degree of technical achievement:
·
The sculptural
precast cladding comprising three interrelated groups of panels (main facing
panels, penthouse panels, and balcony panels)
·
The integrated
sculptural elements of the complex, as part of the design of the wall cladding
and as site-specific installations in the forecourt and on the terrace
·
The deep horizontal
voids created by the balconies at the seventh floor, separating the sections of
the main facing panels from the penthouse panels
·
The precast concrete
panels on the south elevation of the auditorium wing with projecting vertical
window fins
·
The precast concrete
panels that are an early, large-scale application of a pressure-equalized
rain-screen system
Historical and Associative Value
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the cultural heritage value of the subject property as being a Modernist
complex directly associated with the University of Toronto's period of
expansion during the 1960s:
·
The scale and
asymmetrical massing
·
The extensive use of
precast concrete on the Medical Sciences Building's exterior
·
The expression of
horizontality, emphasized through the arrangement of voids and window openings
·
The recessed entrance
on the north elevation below a canopy of tiered massings, framed on either side
by solid, simple volumes
Attributes that contribute to the cultural
heritage value of the subject property as being demonstrative of the work of
Ted Bieler, Robert Downing, and Beer Precast Concrete:
·
The site-specific,
integrated artworks by Canadian sculptor, Ted Bieler:
·
Helix of Life, located in the forecourt of the north entrance
·
Muskoka Piece, located on the terrace adjacent to the south elevation of the
auditorium wing
·
The site-specific,
integrated artworks by Canadian sculptor, Robert Downing:
·
Cube Wall, integrated into the wall adjacent to the north entrance and cascading
onto the terrace beneath the covered canopy
·
Medallion, located on the east elevation of the north lobby, at the axial
terminus of the approach to the terrace through the covered passageway from the
east
·
The sculptural
concrete elements that represent the high degree of skill and range of
expertise of Beer Precast, including the sculptural precast panels and artworks
Contextual Value
The following heritage attributes contribute to
the cultural heritage value of the subject property as supporting and
maintaining the character of the biomedical and health sciences precinct in the
southeast corner of St. George Campus and as being a landmark:
·
The location of the
Medical Sciences Building on the southeast corner of King's College Circle
·
The composition of
interconnected wings with articulated massing and a raised terrace that
provides a passageway from King's College Circle to Queen's Park Crescent
·
The scale of the
Medical Sciences Building, which spans from King's College Road to Queen's Park
Crescent West
Notice of Objection to the Notice of Intention to Designate
Notice of an objection to the Notice of
Intention to Designate the Property may be served on the City Clerk, Attention:
Registrar Secretariat, City Clerk's Office, Toronto City Hall, 2nd Floor West,
100 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2N2.; Email: RegistrarCCO@toronto.ca within thirty (30) days
of November 17, 2025, which is December 17, 2025. The notice of objection to
the Notice of Intention to Designate the Property must set out the reason(s)
for the objection and all relevant facts.
Getting Additional Information:
Further information in respect of the Notice of
Intention to Designate the Property is available from the City of Toronto at:
https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2025.PH25.13.
Dated at the City of Toronto on November 17, 2025.
John D. Elvidge
City Clerk