CAMH Temerty Discovery Centre reaches major construction milestone

June 17, 2026

The Temerty Discovery Centre at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto celebrated a major construction milestone earlier this week, with a topping-off ceremony marking the research building reaching its full height.

Following remarks from CAMH leaders Sarah Downey and Anne-Marie Newton and associate minister of Mental Health and Addictions Vijay Thanigasalam, the building’s final steel beam was signed by the many hands behind the project. The beam has now been lifted into place, and construction will continue towards a late 2027 completion.

Located at CAMH’s Queen Street Campus, the hybrid mass timber building marks an important moment in KPMB’s work with Canada’s largest mental health teaching hospital. For more than two decades, KPMB has helped CAMH create “the mental health facility of the future,” beginning with a master plan in 2002 that was followed by several campus additions, including Phase 1A, Phase 1B, and Phase 1C.

Designed by KPMB with Treanor, the Temerty Discovery Centre will unify CAMH’s research programs under one roof. The 385,000-square-foot facility will house more than two-thirds of CAMH’s 1,400 research staff and significantly expand the institution’s capacity for research and collaboration.

The design of the Temerty Discovery Centre also wrestles with an important question: can architecture help eliminate stigma? When completed, the new building — curvilinear, transparent, and connected to its surroundings— will stand in contrast to the insular 19th-century asylum that was sequestered behind walls at Queen and Shaw Streets.

“We are thrilled to celebrate and recognize the capstone of our historic 20-year campus transformation. Our campus redevelopment is a key element of our strategic plan, turning what was once a walled institution into a symbol of hope for the future of mental health care in Ontario and Canada,” said CAMH president and CEO Sarah Downey during the ceremony.

Read more about our vision for the Temerty Discovery Centre.