Set alongside a varsity football pitch, the new sports centre presents a glazed façade that offers field-side views from the upper-storey workout areas.
PROJECT Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport, Toronto, Ontario

ARCHITECTS Patkau Architects + MJMA

TEXT David Steiner

PHOTOS Tom Arban, unless otherwise noted
The best way to watch live sports is in the round. Cheering on all sides generates excitement for players and spectators alike, especially in basketball and volleyball. This was the premise for an invited competition entry by Patkau Architects and MJMA for the University of Toronto?s Goldring Centre, a facility for high-performing athletes. Creating a powerful spectator experience was one of the initial design challenges. The other was less glamorous: providing sufficient space for material handling and garbage truck access to service the Centre and three nearby buildings. Two pragmatic problems, both with a pro-found effect on the resulting structure. Attend a varsity match in the Field House, as the court is called, and it becomes obvious that setting the two thousand seats on all sides was the right choice. Yet on a tight site, with a six-metre setback along the front and rear, there are limited options for getting FIBA-regulation basketball court dimensions to fit. The design team determined that the only place for this volume was below grade, because then it could reach out to the property line on all four sides (setbacks only apply above ground). ?Eve...