University of Toronto Graduate House
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Graduate House at the University of Toronto is a student residence specifically for graduate students.
[edit] Building
The new facility is located on the western edge of the campus, on the north-east corner of Spadina Avenue and Harbord Street (address 60 Harbord St, Toronto, ON, M5S 3L1). The building, with its large sign, marks the main western entrance to the campus. The building is considered one of the more important works of architect Thom Mayne, who won the Pritzker Prize in 2005. The building won a number of awards, but its design was not without controversy with a number of students and area residents criticizing its unusual façade and bleak concrete interior. Construction of the building ran considerably behind schedule, and some residents have speculated that part of the reason for the stark concrete walls inside the apartments is that residents were moved into the building without the final touches (like drywall and paint) having been completed. The giant "University of Toronto" sign, of which only the "O" is clearly visible, has led to the building sometimes being referred to as "The Big O"
The building envelope is flawed and has caused recurrent problems with leaking into student rooms, causing students to be living in potentially unhealthy conditions due to persistent damp. To date, the deficiencies have not been fixed.
The new Graduate House opened in 2000. Previously, graduate students had been housed in a building at Bloor and St. George. This building was demolished and replaced with the new Woodsworth College residence in 2004.
Graduate House contains three, four, and some five-bedroom apartment-style suites for full-time Graduate and Second-Entry Professional Faculty single students.
[edit] History
Before 2000, the Graduate Student Residence was a building at 321 Bloor known the St. George Apartments. The four-storey U-shaped residence, built in 1926, was designed by the firm of Paisley & Marani. On August 18, 1976, the building was added into the City of Toronto's Inventory of Heritage Properties [1]. In 2001, the University began the process to redevelop the site to accommodate Woodsworth College residence.
