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REIMAGINED Birge-Carnegie: A New Hub for the Vic U Community
By Leslie Shepherd
Victoria University is building something it’s never had before: a true campus hub.
When renovations to the BirgeCarnegie Building are finished, it will be more than an architectural treasure. It will be a daily destination for students, faculty, staff, alumni and visitors to work, study, meet and celebrate.
“This is a dynamic and inclusive model that blends essential services with opportunities for outreach, collaboration and engagement across the campus community,” said Calvin Brook, principal architect on the project.
“Even though it has such a prominent location at the intersection of Queen’s Park Crescent and Charles Street West, Birge-Carnegie has been underused for many years. Through its renewal, which combines essential campus services with amenities and study spaces, it will serve as a welcoming gateway to the campus—a hub for serendipitous encounters and collaborations between students, Vic U’s leadership, faculty, staff, alumni and visitors.”
In addition to housing the President’s Office and a state-ofthe-art classroom, the building also includes the iconic Reading Room. To be known as the Goldring Reading Room, it will be restored to its original grandeur and is intended for use as a multipurpose space.
“The restoration and accentuation of the heritage features of the building are a key element of the project and speak to continued beauty and functionality,” said Jennifer Ankrett, Vic U’s bursar and chief administrative officer. “Almost every space in the building will be able to be used for multiple purposes, including work, teaching, studying, relaxing or events.”
New renderings have been released showing how beautiful the building will look when finished.
Mayes Rihani, associate director for major capital project management, said substantial completion is expected by the end of 2026, with move-in around late spring 2027.
One of the most striking changes to the building will be the reintroduction of natural light. A central skylight, long obscured by infill construction, has been reopened, allowing daylight to cascade through the building from the roof to the main lobby.
In the lightwell in the main foyer, a two-storey feature wall made of white oak wood will tell the story of the Victoria University crest and its four symbols. The oil lamp, associated with wisdom and learning, is deliberately located at the base of the building, with its illumination spreading upward. The sphinx, owl and phoenix will rise above the lamp’s light.
“The symbol of the lamp light is literally illuminated by actual sunlight spreading down the wall from the skylight above, at once providing the building’s occupants with the benefits of natural light while symbolically reinforcing the concept of enlightenment and education,” Brook said.
Brook said his architecture firm, Brook McIlroy, Inc., has worked closely with Victoria University to develop a vision that reflects the university’s values: openness, inclusion and lifelong learning. Transparency is a guiding principle. Heritage doors are being retrofitted with glazing, to enhance visibility and introduce more light.
“We’ve been strategic in deferring to the building’s character and history where needed, but we’ve also geared its function to effective informal and tech-enabled collaboration, a key factor in both the contemporary learning and work environments,” Brook said.
At the heart of the renovation is the Goldring Reading Room, a soaring, light-filled space that will be restored to its original grandeur thanks to a $1.5 million gift from Judy Goldring Vic 8T7 and her brother Blake Goldring Vic 8T1.
The reading room’s two-storey windows, once covered by storm inserts, are being carefully restored, many with the original glass, to ensure they are airtight. The appearance and conditions of the windows are improved from a heritage perspective, and the clarity of light is also better.
Wainscoting around the room will hide HVAC infrastructure and power outlets. The original library tables will be reinstalled, complete with intimate desk lamps that were also part of the original BirgeCarnegie building.
A mezzanine lounge overlooking the reading room will become a retreat space for staff. Acoustic treatments will ensure a quiet atmosphere, while soft furniture will invite informal work and relaxation.
The building will house a stateof-the-art classroom, designed for flexibility and collaboration, and flooded with natural light from 16 windows. An exterior stairway will connect the classroom directly to the front lawn on Charles Street West, enabling it to be used for events that span indoor and outdoor spaces.
The classroom will support team-based learning, Indigenous sharing circles, and presentations, with AV panels on multiple walls and movable tables powered by integrated battery packs.
Although not a Vic alum, Brook has a personal connection to the university. He took literature courses every semester at Vic while studying at the University of Toronto’s School of Architecture.
“It’s what kept me sane for those five years I was studying architecture,” he said, with a smile. “I adopted Vic as my home.”
Rendering: Courtesy of Brook McIlroy
