Tory Atrium opens after renovations, will be fully finished by fall 2025

On March 17, 2025, the Henry Marshall Tory Building Atrium opened to the public. Tory Atrium closed on July 22, 2024, for renovations.

Kent Love, manager (capital projects) and vice-president (facilities and operations), and Kelly Hopkin, manager (campus architecture), explained the changes made to the atrium.

The project started out with the plan to replace the skylight, as it was hard to maintain and was allowing too much heat into the building. After the renovations, Hopkin said the new skylight allows sunlight in while reducing unnecessary heat.

“With the [old] skylight you got a lot of sun load, with this one you still get great light. But you don’t get that harshness that heats up the space and makes it feel like a greenhouse,” Hopkin said. 

Another change made was the removal of the living wall, which had been out of use for some time but still had planters on the wall. According to Hopkin, gaps in the subfloor allowed mice to get into the building. 

“We had to take [it] down because underneath there we had openings on the subfloor level. It was an expensive maintenance contract and we couldn’t keep the vermin out of because of the sub[floor’s] condition,” Hopkin said. 

He noted that he knows “students were really disappointed when this system had to come out” and that he’s aware “biophilic [design] [is] really important to students.”

In order to maintain a natural aspect without the living wall, the renovation team settled on a compromise. They placed metalwork of dandelions across the wall that had previously been the green wall.

The new atrium is designed with the “student life experience” in mind

According to Love and Hopkin, they wanted to ensure the renovations would turn the space into something that students would be able to enjoy between classes. 

“It allows the entire space to come back and be used for that student life experience,” Love said. 

The renovations focused on creating an intentionally designed space for students to be able to study and relax between classes. 

Hopkin said many of the seating areas were designed to “feel like your backyard.” The new seating areas feature couches, cushioned seats, and tables with warm lighting above. 

Love and Hopkin mentioned that the university’s plan to increase enrolment (SHAPE) requires there to be more spaces on campus. They said that having more seating and spaces was necessary to accommodate the influx of students. 

Lighting was another focus of the renovations

Additionally, Hopkin said they paid close attention to the lighting. The new skylight features a “starry night feature that moves and pulses.”

Additionally, the lighting was layered to allow for adjustable intensity. Hopkin said they plan to dim the lights during the evenings. This was so that students can have a “comfortable and relaxed” atmosphere.

Hopkin said he hopes students will “take pride” in the new architecture. He said they took “some risks” in certain design elements that aren’t typically used in campus facilities.

The atrium is fully furnished and ready for students. Love stated that the only remaining change is to make the doorways more accessible.

“We learned a lot about accessibility in this project. This atrium helps provide access into the Tory building,” said Love. He stated that the doorways will be widened in the summer of 2025.

“By fall of this year it’ll be fully finished,” Love said.