Sustainability Features
Lawson Centre for Sustainability
Schematic to illustrate the sustainability features for the Lawson Centre for Sustainability. See the Sustainability Features section below for details.
A Commitment to Sustainability
Trinity College’s new Lawson Centre for Sustainability (opening fall 2025) will achieve boundary-pushing sustainability, serving as the leading example of what is possible to achieve in the built form.
It will serve as the central vehicle for sustainability on Trinity’s campus, shaping everything from teaching and academic research to energy use and carbon footprint, to user experience, and in turn, shaping the values of those who pass through our doors—most importantly, the students who come to here to learn.
The Lawson Centre for Sustainability is pivotal to the realization of Trinity’s new Integrated Sustainability Initiative. Through the provision of experiential learning opportunities through the Community Kitchen and George and Martha Butterfield Rooftop Farm, it will foster and catalyze academic community and countless synergies, collaborations and learning opportunities at Trinity, within the University of Toronto, and the broader community—all centred around leading-edge sustainability.
Provision of food is a big part of what we do at Trinity and through the Lawson Centre for Sustainability, Trinity will become a leader in urban agriculture food production, inputting hyper-local industrial-scale food production into the College’s food services.
The importance of fresh, nutritious food, and the urgency of addressing food insecurity, particularly in urban centres, will be integral values associated with food provision at Trinity College, and experienced first-hand by our students, community members, and even outside guests.
Sustainable Building Certifications (upon completion and building commissioning)
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum
Canadian Green Building Council Zero Carbon Building Standards
Sustainability Features
Materials & Resources
Hybrid mass timber that prioritizes locally sourced timber (Ontario) and sequesters carbon
Hyper-local (Ontario) compressed brick and limestone building cladding
Durable materials with renewable and/or recycled content
LEED compliant building site and materials waste management
Provision of recycling depots for source-separation of waste throughout the building to meet the needs of the University’s recycling and waste reduction programs and vehicular access to these sites
Rooftop farm for industrial-scale food production, education and research opportunities
Energy …
