MSB Moves into the 21st Century

Parking and admin support. I’ve often joked that these are what people really care about at work. Then there is workspace itself.

Volumes have been written on the impact of the built environment on health, wellbeing and productivity. We all know firsthand how natural light, colour, open space and good design can impact our experience in buildings. And we all intuitively know when it’s time for a renovation.

Back in May when I shared with you our plans for the MaRS2 research space, I noted that this was Step 1 in my commitment to renew infrastructure across the Faculty, including at the Medical Sciences Building (MSB). The MaRS2 build-out is moving along well but you’re also going to see a number of much-needed improvements to MSB.

For those who missed last week’s announcement of the campus-wide LIFT project  – $190M to revamp nearly 550 labs across all three U of T campuses – I’m delighted to share the news that the Faculty of Medicine is the single largest recipient of that funding and will now move forward with $40M in renovations to the Medical Sciences Building.

The project includes three discrete components.

1. Renovations to the labs and lab support rooms on Floors 3-7 in MSB, with the exception of the 4th floor of the west wing (Block B), which will serve as temporary lab spaces for the remaining occupants during the renovations. 
   
   The goal of the project is to provide improved infrastructure to meet the demands of today’s research labs, both in terms of current federal standards and the evolving nature of scientific research. We will create a better working environment by improving the overall layout (within building constraints such as elevator shafts), bringing daylight into interior labs, introducing centralized facilities where it makes most sense, and promoting collaboration through open lab spaces.
2. Anatomy teaching laboratory and laboratory support renovations, including demolition of walls between eight single labs to create four large teach labs with floor to ceiling upgrades and modernized teaching and storage facilities.
    
3. Structural and infrastructure improvements to support installation of a 1GHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) machine for imaging research.

This work will be staggered over the next two years for completion by mid-2018. Needless to say, the planning and construction timeline is tight but our outstanding Facilities and Space Planning team is on it, with some work (anatomy labs) already under way.

These renovations comprise the largest piece of the LIFT investment across U of T. My personal thanks go out to President Gertler and Scott Mabury, VP University Operations, who recognized – and championed – the critical nature of these investments for the Faculty of Medicine.

We’ve got outstanding talent – in our students, faculty and staff – and these infrastructure projects will provide the physical renewal we need to stay productive and competitive on a global stage. Not a moment too soon.

Trevor Young
Dean, Faculty of Medicine
Vice-Provost, Relations with Health Care Institutions