Designed by Moriyama Teshima Architects in collaboration with Acton Ostry Architects, Limberlost Place is a 10-storey mass timber academic building at George Brown Polytechnic’s Waterfront Campus in Toronto, Canada. The operational net-zero carbon facility is home to the School of Architectural Studies and Brookfield Sustainability Institute, alongside executive offices, a fitness centre, childcare facilities, and an event space.
The project was selected through an international competition launched by then George Brown College for a building that would meet high standards of design, technology, and sustainability. Conceived as both a living laboratory serving 3,400 students and a demonstration of Canada’s developing tall timber industry, the project reflects the institution’s broader commitment to climate-conscious design.
A learning landscape shaped by timber
Limberlost Place’s design references the site’s Indigenous name, Tkaronto, meaning ‘where there are trees standing in the water’, while responding to the City of Toronto’s broader vision for an ecologically responsive, architecturally distinctive, and pedestrian-oriented eastern waterfront. Its copper-toned facade and sculptural roofline give the building a prominent presence within the developing district, while extensive city-facing glazing reveals the warm timber structure within.
At the entrance, the soaring all-wood Learning Landscape forms the building’s principal social and circulation space. Monumental black spruce columns, the largest weighing 22,000 pounds, rise through the space, while slatted wood surfaces filter daylight. A sculptural feature stair encourages active circulation through the building and incorporates spaces for gathering, collaboration, and discussion, alongside more enclosed areas for independent study.
The exposed timber contributes visual warmth and sensory richness, complemented by abundant daylight and operable windows. Distributed vertically through the building, quieter ‘Breathing Rooms’ provide places for study and respite, with oak desks, carefully controlled acoustics, and views across the city and waterfront. Crowning the building, the Limberlost Event Space offers panoramic views of Lake Ontario and the Toronto skyline.
A shallow mass timber structure
Tall timber and net-zero carbon presented particular challenges within Toronto’s regulatory context and extreme climate. At the project’s inception, national and provincial codes limited mass timber buildings to six storeys and did not permit assembly or public occupancies at this scale. The team developed new solutions that have since contributed to changes in these codes.
A critical ambition was to achieve nine-metre column-free spans across the 10 storeys while remaining within a strict overall height limit. Working with structural engineer Fast + Epp, the design team developed a shallow structural assembly comprising glulam columns, CLT-concrete composite slab bands, and perpendicular CLT infill panels. The mass timber components were sourced nationally as part of what the project’s life cycle assessment describes as a ‘Made-in-Canada’ structural solution.
Slim and refined, the system overcomes some of the bulk typically associated with mass timber while providing flexibility in the arrangement of learning spaces. The large spans allow demising walls to be reconfigured, enabling spaces to expand or contract as needs change. The team has open-sourced the innovation to encourage knowledge transfer and support further development in mass timber construction.
Passive systems for net-zero performance
As part of its operational net-zero carbon strategy, Limberlost Place combines a thermally efficient prefabricated building envelope, deep-water cooling and heating from Lake Ontario, rooftop photovoltaic panels, operable windows, and two solar chimneys.
Working with Transsolar, the design team developed a climate-responsive facade and integrated ventilation concept centred around double-height Breathing Rooms on each classroom level, paired with twin solar chimneys on the east and west sides of the building. Each chimney consists of two layers of glass with adjustable vents at the top and bottom. Bronze-toned internal shelves absorb solar heat while limiting direct solar gain.
The solar chimneys use the stack effect to move air through the building, reducing the need for mechanical ventilation. Their glazed construction captures solar heat, driving airflow upwards. During spring and autumn, warm, stale air from the classrooms rises into the double-height Breathing Rooms and is drawn through the chimneys, while fresh outdoor air enters through operable windows. In summer, the heated air creates an upward draft that helps draw heat away from the facade; in winter, the vents remain closed so that warm air trapped within the chimneys acts as an insulating layer. (Transsolar, n.d.)
The building has achieved Tier 4 of the Toronto Green Standard, which sets out the city’s sustainable design and performance requirements for new developments, and is targeting LEED Gold certification.
Transsolar (n.d.) George Brown College – Limberlost Place, Toronto, ON, Canada. Available at: https://transsolar.com/projects/toronto-george-brown-college-the-arbour-limberlost-place (Accessed: 26 August 2026).
