Two new additions at TFS will soon reshape the school’s campuses, transforming its students’ learning experiences and benefiting the entire community. Explore what the future of teaching and learning, and connecting our community, will look like as we get ready to break new ground.
Transformational buildings for aspirational futures
Between the two new buildings, a total of 4,658 m2 (50,137 sq. ft.) of space will be added, positioning the buildings as drivers of TFS’ unique educational program, developing our students not only as learners, but also as individuals and citizens.
With spaces dedicated to academics and athletics, arts and sciences, new technologies and innovation, the TFS centre and the West Campus extension will embrace every aspect of what young learners need to thrive and develop into well-rounded students. Designed to ignite innovative ways of teaching and learning, the buildings will also provide the best learning environments to nurture our students’ well-being — spaces where the joy of learning and being together can shine.
Project at Glance
Toronto Campus
3,483 m2 (37,490 sqft) added
- A-350 seat multipurpose auditorium
- Three new classrooms facing our ravine
- A green lab
- A green roof
- A maker space
- A music studio
- A multimedia room
- A new school entrance, including a reception area and a multipurpose lobby
West Campus
1,175 m2 (12,647 sqft) added
- A new multipurpose gym more than twice the size than the current one with bleachers, a viewing gallery and a direct entrance at the corner of Meredith and Atwater
- A maker space
- A design lab
- A new classroom (replacement)
Timeline
| Our program defines our spaces Our academic programming is unique and so must be the spaces that bring it to life. How can new spaces meet our needs now while reinventing teaching and learning for the next generation? This question has been at the centre of our reasoning since 2017, when we started to envision a Master Campus Plan that would physically lay out the future of what education stands for at TFS. Our future spaces are designed to break boundaries and allow innovative ways of teaching and learning inside and outside the classroom, as well as to facilitate gathering and exchanges. | A reflection of our school’s heritage and culture Including 26 acres of the Don Valley ravine, our Toronto campus is an urban gem connecting us to nature and reminding us that others preceded us on this land. Recognizing this legacy and our responsibility to it, the designs embrace the natural world and our access to it. Gathering spaces, hallways and classes will open up to the ravine on the north side. At the same time, the building will settle quietly next to the three former mansions that are an integral and historical part of the campus, while also bringing a sense of modernity. |
| Strengthen the sense of place Separated into four branches, our school has never had a centre, a meeting place where we can all gather no matter your child’s Grade or Level or what branch they are attending. Thus connecting the three former mansions (Senior School, 306 administrative building and Junior School) on the Toronto campus became fundamental to this project. Through connections, interior and exterior pathways, the feeling of continuity between the buildings, and the journey of our TFS students that this pathway represents, will be strongly reinforced, with the future auditorium as the focal point where we can come together school-wide. | Sustainability and accessibility The new buildings will make use of materials that minimize the production of greenhouse gases during their manufacturing process and will create a healthy environment once installed. Critically, they will meet or exceed current building standards (LEED) and will meet Toronto’s green standards. For instance, our windows will be triple glazed (three layers of glass) and we will incorporate a storm water damage management system. We will have a strategically located green roof and will make use of photovoltaics (solar panels). The designs will also remedy the accessibility issues at the 306 building. |
TFS has continued to grow without adding any square feet to its campuses since the Building on Excellence campaign, which was launched in 2001 and led to a major expansion of the Senior School, including new classrooms, the pool, gymnasium and La Terrasse.
The world is also evolving at an astounding rate and education needs to similarly evolve to meet the challenges ahead and fully prepare our students for new career paths and ways of life. We have always been pioneers of advancing what an education can and should be and our goal now is to journey forward to further instill passion for learning and discovery in our students, elevated through the creation of the two new buildings.
These buildings will bring people together. Whether in the maker space, auditorium, music studio or gym, the dynamic exchange between teacher and student, and student and student, will heighten the results of the learning process.
Founded in 1962, the same year as TFS, CS&P Architects is one of Canada’s leading design practices, with a strong record of tailoring dynamic and inclusive multidisciplinary facilities to their clients' vision.
With high profile expertise in working with educational institutions, CS&P resonates deeply with TFS as the firm was behind the design of our beloved La p'tite école, an inventive, award-winning building that opened in 1972 and is still relevant to its purpose in 2023. More recent works include major projects such as the Havergal College Athletic Centre (2006), the new North Toronto Collegiate Institute (2010) and the Crescent School Library and Learning Commons (2015).
"As architects with education as one of our specialties, we could not be more inspired to work with institutions who have the desire to break boundaries by looking at creating new ways of teaching and learning through innovative and transforming design. This is the partnership we have with TFS."
Craig Goodman, Principal, CS&P