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Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) recently broke ground on its newest project, the Smart Campus Integrated Service Hub, or SCITHub. This building, set to open sometime in the fall of 2025 at the corner of Dundas and Mutual streets, is TMU’s answer to the need for more updated digital resources within the community.
According to Jenn McArthur, an architectural science professor who developed the idea and proposed it to the university, the building will stand at 10 metres tall and offer research facilities for TMU community members from all departments.
“It is a 27 by 27 metre footprint site, so we can’t build more than 17 metres tall,” she said. “We’re not allowed to block the views to the people from the fourth floor up according to city by-laws.”
SCITHub will be the first ever fully digitally enabled building in the world according to TorontoMet Today, implementing newer technologies like updated heating, ventilation and air conditioning. This facility will showcase a fully integrated IT system that will connect all of the elements of the building together for easier control.
According to the official SCITHub website, the ultimate goal of the facility is to “help propel Canada’s built environment towards net-zero emissions.”
“The beautiful thing about this project is that it’s really been designed to try and be a good piece of interdisciplinary research,” said McArthur. “And we’re going to put in sensors to learn how these buildings age over time and adapt our techniques.”
But while this project, designed by Toronto’s WZMH Architects, set high expectations regarding the future of technology in the context of environmental studies, questions remain as to why the construction of this building was made a priority over other campus-related issues.
“I just think this amount of money could really benefit the school in other ways,” said Kezia Silver, a fourth-year photography student at TMU. “Like, when you see the state of some of our buildings and facilities, it feels like the priority should be put on that instead of some fancy research hub.”
When it comes to the financing of SCITHub, multiple sponsors have offered their support to TMU. Schneider Electric, an eco-friendly energy company based in Toronto, is one of the many corporations that helped bring this project to life.
“We quickly understood that there would be an opportunity with this TMU project, and to have a testing and training facility for the education of the students of TMU,” said Xavier Biot, the product vice president at Schneider Electric. “But it was also an opportunity for us to learn and to teach and to educate students and future users of technologies.”
According to their website, Schneider Electric’s seeks to “create impact by empowering all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all,” which happened to align with the values behind the construction of SCITHub and led to their financial help.
McArthur spoke about the comments made regarding the financing of the project, which was granted by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI).
“People saying we should have used the funding for something else prove a fundamental misunderstanding of how the CFI works,” she said. “This money came through a funding competition back in 2020. If we were to use this money for anything else, we would end up in jail. We can’t even allocate the money to other parts of the same project without receiving authorization from the CFI.”
In an email to OTR, a CFI representative wrote that “[they] fund up to 40 per cent of research infrastructure costs for projects,” however the exact numbers for the source of the remaining 60 per cent could not be confirmed by publication time.
“I guess in a few years we will know if this massive investment will actually pay off for us as students,” Silver said. “Or if the priority should actually be put on upgrading and improving the facilities we already have access to.”
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.
