University Studios responds to the urgent need for student housing at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. The building provides Single Room Occupancy (SRO) suites together with a wide array of lounges and communal work spaces. Retail uses at grade cater to students but are also available to the general public. Wallman Architects provided both architectural and interior design services, most notably in the compact SRO suites. Storage closets, kitchen facilities, and the air-handling unit are organized into a linear “service wall” along one side of the suite in order to maximize the space available for the bathroom, sitting area, and folding bed. On the exterior, the mosaic pattern of metal panels and glazing is designed to achieve an environmentally sustainable 40/60 window-wall ratio and to mitigate the regularity of the exterior windows. Dark metal panels and a prominent canopy separate the retail spaces from the residential floors, allowing the articulated upper volume to float above the ground floor.