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The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Library has installed four pillars designed to invite the university community to engage with different aspects of the library’s 50-year history.
The pillars, created in collaboration with the Department of Architectural Sciences, have been arriving in increments throughout the week and stand just over 5’9”. They are displayed on the library’s second floor near the walkway to the Student Learning Centre to encourage a high volume of student interaction.
According to the library they represent more than a symbol of historical significance for the library. It is a celebration of the hard work undertaken by architecture students across the program.
Since the 1970s, the library has undergone substantial technological changes and resource programming that has resulted in the opening of a second branch to support the new School of Medicine in Brampton according to the website.
In a private ceremony to celebrate the library building itself and acknowledge the hard work of the architecture department, TMU alumni, staff and architecture students were invited to view the pillars on Nov. 28.
In separate interviews, some architecture students shared their design journey, emphasizing how the experience allows for connections to be created between students across all years in the program.
“Connecting with higher-up years gives you a more open perspective and brings reality back that going into higher years doesn’t seem so far-fetched now,” said Saad Malik, a first-year architectural science student, who made substantial contributions in the construction phase of the pillars.
The design and build allows students to flex their skills and showcase them to the university population, said Will Choi, a third year architectural sciences student at TMU and co-lead on the project — even if it is just for a short period.
In an emailed statement from the TMU Libraries to OTR, a spokesperson shared that “the pillars will be in place through the winter.” It has not been confirmed how long the pillars will remain in the library.
“It would be nice to see them stay in the library, but some of them are catered towards the anniversary itself,” Choi said.
For more information about the library and its evolution throughout the years, read Spotlight on Architecture Students at Library’s 50th.
Abbie North is a 4th-year journalism student at Toronto Metropolitan University who is a reporter for On The Record.
Claire Dufourd (she/her) is in her fourth year of the journalism program at Toronto Metropolitan University and is part of the On the Record Fall 2024 masthead.
