© Younes Bounhar & Amanda Large, doublespace photography
The approximately 14,000 m2 Student Learning Centre (SLC) of Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, is essentially an extension of the adjoining 11-storey library tower, which dates from the 1970s. The bright, crystalline new volume, however, steals the show from the brutalist existing structure.
Located directly on a busy shopping street, the learning centre, with its homogeneously printed glass facade, is recognizable from a greater distance. Depending on the weather, its appearance changes, seeming at times to be solid and reflecting the surroundings, while at other times it is light and transparent.
Roughly 80 per cent of the facade area consists of glass, half of which is printed with an irregular decorative pattern that also serves as a means of shading. For this purpose, 20 different dies were developed which, when rotated, tilted or turned upside down, come close to the variety of the original digitally created pattern. The alternation of translucent and opaque printing, juxtaposed with transparent areas, results in different lighting situations internally.
Located directly on a busy shopping street, the learning centre, with its homogeneously printed glass facade, is recognizable from a greater distance. Depending on the weather, its appearance changes, seeming at times to be solid and reflecting the surroundings, while at other times it is light and transparent.
Roughly 80 per cent of the facade area consists of glass, half of which is printed with an irregular decorative pattern that also serves as a means of shading. For this purpose, 20 different dies were developed which, when rotated, tilted or turned upside down, come close to the variety of the original digitally created pattern. The alternation of translucent and opaque printing, juxtaposed with transparent areas, results in different lighting situations internally.