Its structure involves steel beams joined into a complex triangular geometry, supporting a fully glass wall. It is a relatively skinny rectangle that rests on two points in the ground, and reaches out across the loading dock of the library. The system of stepped spaces “allows you to see where you’re going and draw you in,” he said.īut that’s sales patter, the kind of thing architects use to convince their clients to accept a design. Gary McCluskie, a principal architect at Diamond Schmitt, described these elements as gathering space. These combine a conventional staircase a parallel set of oversized steps, which are large enough to sit on and desk seating in stepped rows. The key issue at Robarts Common is the diagonal elements between floors. This reflects an issue within the architectural profession and in Canada at large: We are still designing buildings that add barriers, rather than removing them. Yet a major aspect of its architecture clearly excludes people with disabilities. This five-storey wing provides study space for students on the U of T’s downtown campus, and it’s designed for people to gather. Unless, that is, you have a physical disability. It’s lined by a set of large platforms where you can lounge, visit and study. As you walk or roll through the front doors of Robarts Common – the new wing at the University of Toronto’s main library – the staircase rises up behind the front desk. The first thing you see is a set of stairs.
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