RAIC Partner News: Amalgamating Toronto’s Ontario Court of Justice Courts

New Toronto Courthouse

Toronto, ON, Canada

NORR Architects & Engineers Limited, in partnership with Renzo Piano Building Workshop as part of the EllisDon Infrastructure Team, were selected to design the new Toronto courthouse, which is currently under construction. Once completed, it will be the largest courthouse in Ontario. Situated in Toronto’s downtown core, the new state-of-the-art facility amalgamates several existing facilities and will become a key element of the downtown civic precinct.

The collaborative design process has produced a strong architectural vision for the site by maximizing exterior public space, improving the streetscape and strengthening the links and relationship between the courthouse and the City’s downtown core. In particular, a 20-metre-tall atrium enclosed by a highly transparent glazed facade creates an immediate and strong image which extends the public realm into the building and expresses the public nature of the courthouse within the city’s downtown core. The project includes 63 courtrooms, as well as 10 conference settlement rooms. The design meets high standards of barrier-free accessibility and includes a number of specialty courts including drug, mental health, Indigenous and youth courts. Archeological discoveries as well as noteworthy aspects of the history of the site are displayed in the grade level public realm of the project, while the top levels feature a two-story landscaped courtyard surrounded by the judicial chambers, all under a roof of photo voltaic panels.

Client

Infrastructure Ontario
Ministry of the Attorney General

Services

Architecture
Interior Design

Size

775,000 SF (72,000 SM)

 
Date Completed

2022
 

Awards

n/a
Related Projects

Justice