May 22, 1903.] 



SCIENCE. 



813 



THE NEW MEDICAL BUILDINGS OF THE 

 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO. 



The new buildings for the department of 

 physiology and pathology of the University 

 of Toronto, which are to be formally 

 opened in October next, are the first to 

 exemplify the unit system of laboratory 

 construction proposed by Professor Minot,* 

 of Harvard University, and consequently 

 an account of them may be acceptable to 

 all who are interested in laboratory admin- 

 istration and construction. 



The main features of the unit system, as 

 outlined by Professor Minot, are all com- 

 prehended in the character of the labora- 

 tory 'unit' room. This must, first of all, 

 be no larger than is required to accom- 

 modate readily the maximum number of 

 students whose practical instruction a 

 single demonstrator can efficiently guide 

 and control. It must also be of such di- 

 mensions that it can, at need, be made to 

 serve as a museum, a library or reading 

 room, or a small lecture room. The units, 

 further, must be so placed with respect 

 to one another, preferably in pairs or 

 series, that, by the removal of the partitions 

 separating them, rooms of larger dimen- 

 sions may, when desired, be obtained at 

 a minimum cost and in a short time. The 

 dimensions of such a unit, as determined 

 by Professor Minot, are 23 x 30 feet, and 

 this room will accommodate twenty-four 

 working students, which number, experi- 

 ence shows, is the largest that should be 

 under the supervision of a single class 

 demonstrator. 



The system, as may be seen, offers the 

 great advantage of elasticity, for a labora- 

 tory director may enlarge or contract, at 

 will, or according to the needs of the oc- 

 casion, the accommodation required for a 

 class, a feature that does not obtain in 

 any other system of laboratory construc- 

 * Philadelphia Medical Journal, Vol. VI., p. 390, 

 1900; Science, Vol. XIII., p. 409, 1901. 



tion. It has also other and not less im- 

 portant advantages. The cost of construc- 

 tion is less than in any other system, it 

 adequately provides for the all-important 

 question of light, and it permits of subse- 

 quent extensions and additions without 

 disturbance of the original arrangements. 

 It is also to be noted that the system pro- 

 vides for the formation of smaller rooms 

 through the division of the unit. 



All these points were thoroughly can- 

 vassed when, nearly two years ago, the 

 medical faculty of the University of Toronto 

 took up the question of erecting new labo- 

 ratory quarters for physiology, physiolog- 

 ical chemistry, pathology and public health, 

 and discussed the various plans of con- 

 struction offered. The result was that the 

 faculty unanimously recommended the 

 adoption of the unit system for the pro- 

 posed laboratories. The university trus- 

 tees accepted the recommendation, and 

 construction, begun in August last year, 

 has progressed so rapidly that the build- 

 ings are completed and the equipment is 

 now being put in. The whole is, there- 

 fore, at the moment in such a stage as to 

 permit one to say to what extent the object 

 sought has been attained. 



Architecturally, so far as the exterior is 

 concerned, the utmost has been done, con- 

 sidering the difficulties that the enormous 

 window space interposed. The appearance 

 of the buildings, however, is, on the whole, 

 very acceptable. 



The interior, on the other hand, is very 

 satisfactory. The accommodation it fur- 

 nishes, as well as the conveniences of ar- 

 rangement it offers, is sufficient to demon- 

 strate the great advantages of the unit sys- 

 tem over the common, more or less haphaz- 

 ard, system of laboratory construction 

 everywhere illustrated. 



The buildings are to house physiology, 

 physiological chemistry, pathology and 



