Students, staff and faculty got a sneak peek at the newest addition to U of T’s international-level athletic facilities in early October, as the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport opened its doors for the first time.
Varsity basketball and volleyball players encouraged visitors to join pick-up games while others marvelled at the building’s innovative design, created by Patkau Architects and MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects.
The main field house is below street level, and windows high along the walls allow pedestrians to watch athletes in action below. The three upper floors of the building are suspended from a steel superstructure. “It’s not an unusual way to make a bridge,” says architect Shane O’Neill, “but it’s an unusual way to make a building.”
The facility houses an expanded David L. MacIntosh Sports Medicine Clinic, classrooms and research labs, a strength and conditioning centre and a fitness studio – all for use by U of T students. The Goldring Centre is supported by donations from the Goldring family and from the Kimel family, whose gift will create the Kimel Family Field House within the complex.
Watch U of T athletes discovering their new Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport:
Video courtesy: Varsity Blues
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