Toronto’s Ryerson University has reached a new standard for sustainable campus design with its award-winning Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex. The building, designed in the hopes of achieving LEED Gold certification by global design practice Perkins and Will, is a 28-story tower comprised of academic departments, residences, labs, administrative offices, and a rooftop urban farm that supplies the complex’s café kitchen with fresh produce.
The entire building is completely accessible, encouraging inclusivity, collaboration, and community. On top of a productive green roof, the Daphne Cockwell Health Science Complex boasts many eco-friendly features such as a graywater recycling system for the faucets, toilets, and showers. It also implements a metering and monitoring system that lets student residents see their energy and water consumption online.
The clever and innovative design garnered the tower the 2021 Best Tall Building Award by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Its aesthetically appealing and sustainable design will hopefully motivate more universities to consciously work toward constructing eco-friendly facilities.
