Photo: While TMU’s Student Wellbeing Centre will be a modern, sustainable and innovative hub that brings all well-being services together, it will also preserve a large piece of TMU’s historic campus. | Photo Credit: TMU
By Lindsey Coulter
TORONTO — Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) broke ground May 6 on the new Student Wellbeing Centre, an 8-story tower that will establish a central hub at the heart of the urban campus. The building will house a variety of wellbeing programs and will consolidate numerous decentralized student support services. The move aims to improve access and service delivery for the university’s growing and diverse community of students, faculty and staff.
While TMU’s Student Wellbeing Centre will be a modern, sustainable and innovative hub that brings all well-being services together, it will also preserve a large piece of TMU’s historic campus. The Student Wellbeing Centre will be located on the same site as the existing O’Keefe House, a historic structure. Built in 1875, the building was originally the residence of Eugene O’Keefe, founder of O’Keefe Brewery Company of Toronto Limited. The building was offered to former TMU principal Howard H. Kerr in 1963 and until the 1991 completion of Pitman Hall, it operated as the university’s only residence hall. The house’s historical components will be integrated with a modern, mass timber addition on the south side of the property, also adjacent to the existing Heidelberg Centre.
The adaptive reuse project will preserve the heritage O’Keefe House, reimagining it as a cutting-edge facility for student services and engagement. To ensure the Student Wellbeing Centre properly preserves and honors the existing structures and built environment, it was designed in consultation with the City of Toronto’s Heritage Planning services as well as an independent heritage consultant. The project will be led by Mark Dettweiler, executive director of Campus Development for TMU. Dettweiler and university officials worked with Hariri Pontarini Architects as the prime consultant for the design and redevelopment of O’Keefe House and its new addition. Two Row Architect provided Indigenous design services, and Pomerleau was selected as construction manager.
The design integrates multiple aspects of biophilic design, including ample access to natural light, the natural materials and areas for Indigenous placemaking. The use of mass timber construction, multiple passive green roofs and adaptation of an existing building will also help to reduce the building’s overall carbon footprint, supporting TMU’s commitment to sustainable building practices and supporting ecological health.
The central location and thoughtful, accessible design underscore the important role the facility will have as an environment that focuses on health, openness and inclusiveness as cornerstones of wellbeing. When complete, the building will house multiple programs, including the Centre for Student Development and Counseling, health promotion programs, the university’s medical center, Academic Accommodation Support, the Tri-Mentoring Program and more.
“It’s so exciting to see this project underway and to know that we’ll soon have another landmark building on campus that is completely tailored to students’ needs,” said Jen McMillen, vice-provost, in a statement.