As the demands placed on buildings continue to evolve, so too must the materials and systems used to construct them. Today’s projects require solutions that deliver structural performance while supporting accelerated construction schedules, sustainable design objectives, adaptive reuse, and increasingly complex architectural requirements.
Cold-formed steel (CFS) has emerged as one of the most versatile framing systems available, offering an effective balance of strength, efficiency, durability, and design flexibility. Widely used across institutional, healthcare, commercial, educational, and multi-residential projects, CFS can be especially valuable when working with existing buildings, where engineers need to introduce new systems without unnecessarily adding weight or disrupting the original structure.
The transformation of the former Bramalea Civic Centre into Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Medicine is one example of how CFS can help solve the challenges that come with giving an existing building an entirely new purpose.
What Is Cold-Formed Steel?
Cold-formed steel is manufactured by shaping thin sheets of galvanized steel at room temperature into structural members such as studs, tracks, joists, and headers. The result is a lightweight yet strong framing material with a high strength-to-weight ratio.
CFS is commonly used for exterior and interior wall systems, window framing, soffits, guard walls, platforms, architectural features, and other secondary structural applications. Its characteristics make it particularly useful for projects where constructability, durability, weight, and precision all need to be considered. CFS is dimensionally stable, does not warp, twist, or shrink like some other materials, and its galvanized coating provides long-term corrosion resistance. It is also non-combustible and resistant to pests and mold. Because CFS components can be prefabricated and manufactured to precise dimensions, they can also help reduce field modifications, material waste, and installation time.
Why CFS Makes Sense for Adaptive Reuse
Renovating an existing building presents a very different engineering challenge than starting from a blank slate. Existing structural conditions may not perfectly match original drawings. Concrete can deteriorate. Slab edges may vary from floor to floor. And once demolition begins, conditions hidden for decades can suddenly become visible.
This is where the lightweight nature and adaptability of CFS become particularly valuable. Because CFS offers high structural capacity without adding significant weight, it can help minimize additional loading on an existing building. Its flexibility also gives engineers more options to adapt framing configurations when existing conditions differ from what was anticipated. These benefits became particularly important during the redevelopment of the former Bramalea Civic Centre, a four-storey concrete building originally constructed in 1972.
Rather than replacing the more than 50-year-old structure, the project team worked to reuse and retrofit as much of the existing building as possible, transforming its Brutalist architecture into a modern medical education facility. For MTE, that meant designing CFS systems that could work with an existing structure while accommodating an entirely new architectural vision.
Putting CFS to Work at TMU’s School of Medicine
MTE was retained to provide cold-formed steel design for the exterior walls, windows and soffits at TMU’s School of Medicine. But the role of CFS extended well beyond the exterior envelope. Our team also designed CFS systems for interior platforms, stair framing and guard walls, as well as supports for the wood fins incorporated into the atrium’s drywall ceiling.
Inside the completed facility, these systems contribute to some of its most distinctive spaces. The atrium features large suspended wood elements supported using CFS framing, while tall, continuous guard walls within the library are tied back to existing steel beams supporting the original concrete slabs. These applications demonstrate one of the strengths of CFS: the same material can be adapted to solve very different engineering challenges throughout a building.
When Existing Conditions Change the Design
One of the largest challenges on the project emerged after demolition. The original design called for a 3 5/8-inch stud wall positioned on the existing concrete slab and spanning to the underside of the slab above. Once the older framing was removed, however, it became apparent that the concrete slab edges varied throughout the building.
Some edges were misaligned, while areas of the older concrete had deteriorated. As a result, the proposed exterior walls could not simply be installed exactly as initially designed. This type of discovery is not unusual in adaptive reuse. Existing buildings rarely offer the consistency of new construction, and engineering solutions need enough flexibility to respond to what is actually uncovered in the field.
At the same time, the exterior face of the new wall system needed to remain properly aligned to accommodate the project’s Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) cladding system. Simply shifting the wall was not an option.
Adapting the CFS Design to the Building
Rather than requiring extensive restoration of the existing concrete, MTE adapted the CFS framing itself.
Our team recommended increasing the framing to 6-inch studs, providing additional room to accommodate the inconsistent slab edges while keeping the exterior face of the wall flush. This was particularly important for maintaining the alignment of the BIPV panels across the exterior of the building. The solution was developed around the allowable overhang of the steel stud wall. As long as the gap remained within the established limits, the wider studs allowed the tops and bottoms of the walls to maintain adequate support despite variations in the existing concrete.
Our team also designed multiple connection scenarios at the underside of the existing deck. Rather than relying on a single detail, these options allowed the construction team to respond to the range of conditions that could be encountered as work progressed. It was a relatively straightforward adjustment with a significant impact: the design could respond to the existing building rather than requiring the existing building to be extensively modified to suit the new design.
Supporting the Building’s New Exterior
The building’s transformation also introduced a very different exterior expression from the former civic centre. New strip windows and the BIPV cladding system created additional structural requirements around the façade. The weight of the new cladding needed to be supported while the window openings required adequate lateral support.
MTE incorporated additional steel at these locations to support the BIPV system and laterally support the window openings. The solution also helped reduce the amount of material and labour required along these elevations, supporting both constructability and the project’s tight schedule. CFS framing can be particularly effective in situations like this because its combination of strength, light weight, prefabrication opportunities, and installation efficiency can help accelerate construction without sacrificing structural performance.
CFS and More Sustainable Building Reuse
Sustainability on a renovation project is not limited to the performance of the finished building. It also involves considering what can be preserved, what materials are introduced, and how much waste is generated during construction.
One of the central goals of the TMU project was to reuse as much of the existing building as practical through upgrades and retrofit conversions, helping reduce the carbon impact associated with replacing the structure entirely. CFS complemented that approach. Steel is recyclable, while prefabrication and precise manufacturing can reduce the amount of waste generated on site. Its durability and dimensional stability also support long-term building performance, while its non-combustible properties make it well suited to institutional applications. For the School of Medicine, improvements to the building envelope needed to work alongside the client’s broader long-term emissions and sustainability objectives.
By adapting the CFS design to work with existing slabs, beams, and other structural components, the project team was also able to limit the amount of existing material that needed to be removed, repaired, or replaced. In many cases, the most sustainable structure is the one that can be given another life.
Solving Problems Without Stalling Progress
Perhaps one of the most important advantages of CFS on a renovation project is not simply a material property—it is the design flexibility it gives the project team when conditions change. The inconsistent concrete slab edges could have required more extensive restoration before new exterior walls could be installed. Instead, adjusting the stud size provided another path forward.
Working alongside the other project consultants, MTE focused on adapting the design to the conditions uncovered during demolition. Multiple connection scenarios and wider studs gave the construction team options while maintaining the intended exterior alignment. Despite a tight timeline, the team was able to respond to unexpected conditions, streamline decision-making, and keep the project moving toward the same architectural result. The challenge did not disappear. The solution changed. That ability to adapt is critical when modernizing buildings that have already been standing for half a century.
Supporting Architecture Beyond the Exterior Walls
CFS also helped make some of the School of Medicine’s most recognizable interior features possible.
The building’s renovated atrium brings a dramatically different character to the former civic centre, including large wood fins incorporated into the ceiling design. MTE designed the CFS framing used to support these architectural elements. Within the library, tall interior guard walls required another approach. These walls were tied back to existing steel beams that support the building’s original concrete slabs, allowing existing structural elements to take on a new role within the renovated facility.
Together, these details demonstrate how CFS can move beyond conventional wall framing. With the right engineering, it can support architectural features, accommodate challenging geometries, and integrate new design elements into existing structural systems.
Preserving a Building While Creating Something New
The completed TMU School of Medicine demonstrates what adaptive reuse can achieve. TMU’s facilities management and development team oversaw the phased renovation of the former Bramalea Civic Centre, with Diamond Schmitt and Indigenous-owned Two Row Architect reimagining the original Brutalist building for its new purpose.
The design also incorporates Indigenous engagement and inclusive design principles. TMU’s Indigenous Design Guidelines were referenced throughout the project to help guide the integration of Indigenous knowledge within the physical environment of the School of Medicine. Today, the former civic centre has been transformed into a modern academic hub equipped for contemporary medical education, hands-on learning, collaboration, and community care.
For MTE, the project demonstrates how engineering existing structures often requires looking beyond the original design and responding to the building in front of you. By using lightweight, adaptable CFS systems and making strategic use of existing structural framing, our team helped support a significant transformation while maintaining the project’s architectural, construction, and sustainability objectives.
Why Cold-Formed Steel Continues to Gain Ground
From new construction to complex retrofits, CFS offers several advantages that make it an increasingly valuable tool for modern building design:
- High strength-to-weight ratio: Provides structural capacity while minimizing additional building loads
- Adaptability: Member sizes and connection details can be engineered around complex architectural and existing conditions
- Construction efficiency: Prefabrication and precise manufacturing can support faster installation and reduced field modifications
- Material efficiency: Precision manufacturing can reduce on-site waste
- Durability: CFS is dimensionally stable and does not warp, twist, or shrink
- Non-combustibility: Steel provides a non-combustible framing solution for a wide range of building types
- Recyclability: Steel can be recycled, supporting broader material-efficiency and sustainability strategies
- Renovation potential: Its light weight makes CFS particularly useful when adding new systems to existing structures where additional loading must be carefully managed
Engineering CFS Solutions for Complex Buildings
Successfully incorporating cold-formed steel into a project requires more than selecting the right stud size. It requires an understanding of structural behaviour, existing building conditions, building envelope integration, constructability, connection design, architectural intent, and how each of those considerations interacts in the field.
At MTE, our Structural Engineering teams design CFS systems for complex building projects, including institutional, commercial, educational, multi-residential, and adaptive reuse developments.
Have a project where cold-formed steel could provide the right solution? Connect with MTE’s Structural team to learn more about our CFS design capabilities.
Ready when you are
Have a project where cold-formed steel could provide the right solution? Connect with MTE’s team to learn more about our CFS design capabilities.