A glass cliff with a brain inside—Foster makes a pharmacy school feel like a public experiment.
Pharmacy school of the University of Toronto.
Featured in Foster + Partners's definitive monograph, Norman Foster: A Life in Architecture.
Visitor Guide
Go on a weekday during business hours and try the lobby/ground-level views; avoid evenings/weekends when access is typically restricted.
College Street sidewalk across from the main façade, late afternoon; capture the layered glass and the building’s dramatic cantilever/section.
Limited public access: the building is typically unlocked weekdays roughly 08:00–17:00, and access is otherwise restricted to authorized users. Treat it as a street-view building unless you have university business.
This is Foster’s ‘section’ fetish: learning spaces stacked so you can see knowledge being made—labs, circulation, and social space stitched into one vertical diagram.
20–45 minutes
Design & Structure
Program-as-display: transparent circulation and intervisible learning spaces; digitally coordinated façade and cantilever geometry; careful MEP integration for lab requirements while preserving openness.
High-performance glass and steel with durable institutional interiors—materials chosen for transparency, longevity, and to telegraph science as a public act.
Cantilevered and long-span elements enabling open interiors and dramatic section; engineering must manage vibration, deflection, and heavy lab loads.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who designed Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy?+
Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy was designed by Foster + Partners and completed in 1882. It is located in Ontario, Canada.
Where is Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy located?+
Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy is located in Ontario, Canada. Its coordinates are 43.6598°, -79.3911°.
When was Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy built?+
Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy was completed in 1882. It was designed by Foster + Partners.
Can I visit Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy?+
Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy is a real building in Ontario that can be viewed from the outside. Check local information for interior access and visiting hours. Use the Parametric Atlas walking tour feature to plan a route that includes this building.