When I meet John Shnier on the stairs in front of the E.J. Pratt library in the Victoria University campus at the University of Toronto to tour two of his firm's recent projects, he is chatting with three loafing undergraduates, playfully quizzing them on their impressions of his design for the building's recent extensive interior renovation. It is satisfying to note that Shnier is not above some informal student-user polling, given that his firm, Kohn Shnier Architects, has just completed their fourth high profile project for the institution - the Eric Arthur Gallery, in the U of T Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design building.

Shnier and his partner Martin Kohn have been friends since their student days at the University of Waterloo, graduating in 1980 and 1979 respectively. Both had auspicious moments early in their careers - Kohn was invited, in 1985, to work for a year in the office of Rem Koolhaas in Rotterdam and, in 1987, Shnier was the recipient of the prestigious Prix de Rome. It wasn't until 1990 that the two decided to form a practice together. The early 1990s were lean years for Toronto architects generally and the pair found themselves compelled to turn their considerable design skills to relatively small projects. The majority of their early work together consisted of modest house designs, small renovations and additions.

But a spate of new projects, especially related to the ambitious U of T building program championed by Dean of Architecture Larry Wayne Richards, has generated considerable interest in their work. With the Shore and Moffat Library in the Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design building, completed in 1998, and the Erindale student centre at the University's Mississauga campus, completed in 1999, the reserved, fastidious Kohn and bombastic, verbose Shnier - often described as the odd couple of Toronto's architecture community - were given the opportunity to deliver on their early promise.

The E.J. Pratt Library, designed by Gordon S. Adamson and Associates and built in 1960, is a highly regarded modernist building which was in need of a complete refitting of the mechanical and electrical systems as well as reconfiguring to allow for increased use of information technology. the library had also run out of shelf space for its collection and had identified a need for additional study carrels.

Most would agree that the library needed a freshening up after forty years, but Shnier believes the original interior was fundamentally flawed. "When you look at the building you see a minimalist, elegant, abstract, limestone modernist box, Shnier says. "What you would expect from the interior is an open, refreshing, democratic, appealing, fluid environment." While Shnier implies that the former space lacked these qualities, there are others who argue that the original interior, with its dark woods and bold, spare, seemingly undesigned spaces, was in keeping with the simple exterior.

Kohn Shnier Architects, in equal partnership with Shore Tilbe Irwin and Partners, developed a proposal for a comprehensive $6.5 million redesign and renovation. Shore Tilbe Irwin brought to the project library design experience dating back to the 1950s. Recent examples of their work include the main public libraries of Mississauga, Barrie and Aurora, Ontario. In order to increase shelf capacity by twenty percent while adding 275 sq. m of floor space - without building up or out - both firms agreed that expensive interventions within the box were required.

Entry and exiting have been simplified for students laden with books and bags by replacing the double doors, vestibule and security gates with a revolving door and electronic sensors. Uninterrupted sight lines allow the user to immediately read the main floor program - circulation desk to the left, reading room to the right and computer stations directly ahead. Telmet Design Associate, responsible for graphic design and way finding, used large scripted lettering etched on glass to combine the significant requirement for donor recognition with the need for eye-level markings, a safety requirement on floor to ceiling glass walls.

The most dramatic and popular space in the original E.J. Pratt Library was the vast, double-height reading room on the ground floor. As principal design architect, Shnier was mindful of the grand scale of the original space and concerned about a potential backlash when he expanded the mezzanine level to circle a significantly condensed double-height space, creating additional stack area and carrels on the main and mezzanine levels.

In the new design, attention is no longer centred on the reading room, but dispersed among the three public floors - ground floor, basement (Queen's Park level) and mezzanine. the best spaces, and views, are reserved principally for the library staff on the third floor, one floor above the mezzanine. However, a wide variety of study experiences are available to undergraduate students in terms of light and sound levels, views and seating.

A unifying element in the Shnier-designed space is the central staircase, which has been extended up to the third floor administrative facilities. the staircase is backed by a bright red wall and enclosed behind fritted glass panels decorated with white polka dots. two huge circular skylights in the stairwell draw the eye to the natural light at the top. Acknowledging the influence of artists James Turrell and Dan Flavin, who both consider the relationships between light and perception, Shnier attempts to create ambiguity regarding the sources of light illuminating the staircase.

Acoustical absorption is achieved primarily through non-reverberative ceiling tiles cut in a round shape which, in turn, provided the impetus for a circle motif used throughout the building. Portholes on secondary staircases and conference rooms as well as the polka dots on the staircase glass serve to soften the box and provide a visual relief in an otherwise ruthlessly rectilinear building.

Across campus, the Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design has a different design problem. While Dean Richards has embarked upon a far-reaching program promoting architectural excellence at the university, the nondescript appearance of his own faculty's building has done nothing to help communicate the message. He imagines the architectureal elements on the College Street building drawing people in to experience the new Eric Arthur Gallery and, in this way, stimulating the design culture of the city. The gallery, one of several renovations planned for the facility, is intended to provide a venue for the curation of architectural exhibitions hosted by the Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design.

Kohn Shnier has created a pristine, bright, well-proportioned and precisely ordered gallery which works well in conjunction with their previous projecct, the Shore and Moffat Library. the two separate spaces are skillfully shaped to share light, views and an elegant bay window which enigmatically addresses the street. From the inside looking out, the gallery is undeniably an asset to the school of architecture.

As a gallery dedicated to the examination and fostering of architectural ideas, within the faculty, designed by an architect who also happens to teach at the university, the Eric Arthur Gallery holds a position of considerable symbolic importance. As such it represents a missed opportunity to connect to the culture in a literal, engaging way.

Shnier makes formal moves too subtle and austere to provoke interest and inspire the imagination of passersby. The minimalist box affixed to the building marks it for passing interest. But it is opaque - and likely incapable of reaching beyond the already initiated.

However, further plans for redesigning the building entrance and landscaping are being worked on now in Kohn Shnier's office. Perhaps there will still be an opportunity for the Eric Arthur Gallery to make a stronger visual link between the architectural community and the city.