About The Ryerson Student Learning Centre

I’ve watched the evolution of the Ryerson Student Learning Centre from its origins as a strip of shops on Yonge Street, including the haphazard collection of retail spaces comprising the legendary Sam The Record Man store, through its bizarre construction phase to its current completed and fully-in-use form. As someone who used to revel in the walks through the quirky ramps and staircases of Sam The Record Man, I was devastated to hear the land was to be re-purposed into a Ryerson building, but looking back, that’s progress, and a positive change was certainly coming for the area.

What has resulted is a remarkable building that though I’ve walked past countless times now, I’ve never really taken the time to dig deeper into until today. Reflecting the modern ways we now interact with people and our electronic devices, the building is designed as a series of open spaces to help combine socializing, networking and simple browsing on our phones, tablets and computers. Filled with cushions, impromptu seating, whiteboards and more, there are still traditional classroom-like spaces and meeting rooms available, but the main focus is for open areas that allow for uses of space that vary from a study group, to a tutoring session, to friends just hanging out. It’s a fluid use of space.

Here are a few bits of cool information to know about the building:

• Officially opened for public access on February 23, 2015
• Striving for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification (currently still a work in progress)
• Designed by the internationally award-winning architectural firm Snøhetta from Oslo, Norway, who are famous for their modern glacier-inspired works on such projects as the Oslo Opera House
• Eight levels of space, with a different colour, flavour and name on each floor
• The most notable level is the 6th floor, with an area called The Beach, with steps, ramps & bean bags scattered around the space

Love it or hate, the Ryerson Student Learning Centre is a standout building along Yonge Street. One of many bold designs to strike our city in recent years, and something that has gained international attention from the architectural community and beyond.

To find out more about the building, the best thing to do is pop down during business hours to poke around the building yourself, or see some more photos and read further information here at Ryerson University’s website.