Robert A. Gordon Learning Centre
Toronto
Taylor | Hazell Architects

Sprawling hospital transformed into a college campus

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Opened in 1900, the Mimico Lunatic Asylum was intended to be a utopian setting for psychiatric care. The 16-acre campus is centered around a quadrangle of 11 residential cottages that are connected by a maze of underground passages. By 1990, the asylum was closed and its buildings had fallen into decay. Seeing the potential for creating a distinct campus, the Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning leased the site and sought to transform it into a community college for 5,000 students.

The project required combining restoration on a large-scale—more than 250,000 square feet of historic buildings—with the renovation and restructuring of interior spaces to accommodate educational programming. Restoration of the residential cottages, which were designed in the Queen Anne style, included repairing the red brick facades, matching original paint schemes, replacing slate roofs, and installing new windows.

Site work comprised a large portion of the project. A new, 400-foot subterranean service corridor was constructed adjacent to the existing tunnel system to provide all-weather access. The architect transformed the top of this corridor into a distinctive raised pedestrian precinct. The element connects all of the campus buildings and creates an engaging environment within the inner courtyard. Elements such as stairs, ramps, curved walls, canopies, and benches add to the space’s visual diversity. The entire project was a catalyst for community development and is considered to be one of the finest examples of adaptive reuse in Canada.

Formal name of Project:
Robert A. Gordon Learning Centre

Location:
Toronto

Gross square footage:
250,000 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$56 million

Owner:
Humber Institute for Technology and Advanced Learning
www.humber.ca

Architect:
Taylor | Hazell Architects
333 Adelaide Street West
Toronto, Ontario
M5V 1R5
p: 416 862 2694
f: 416 862 8401
www.taylorhazell.com