Find the Sandford Fleming Building (SF) on a map of U of T – St. George.
Overview
The Sandford Fleming Building, also known as SF, is the heart of most engineering student life on campus.
SF is connected to Galbraith (GB) through indoor hallways, which is convenient since GB houses most academic resources while SF houses most student life services.
SF is a multi-faceted building. The basement is the hub of engineering student life on campus and houses “The Pit.” The first floor has lecture halls and Engineering Computing Facility (ECF Labs), while the second floor has tutorial rooms and the Engineering and Computer Science Library, which will be very useful for all your research needs.
The Pit
The Pit is in the SF basement, and it is exactly what it sounds like: a sort of lowered platform floor level with lots of places to sit, work, and hang out. The Hard Hat Cafe and Veda Takeout, explained more in detail later, are both located in the Pit. During the year, the Pit is the site of numerous events. It is always bustling with people during Frosh Week nightlife events. Surrounding the Pit are lots of tables and benches, as well as a lot of services run by students, for students!
Engineering Stores
The first of these student-run resources is Engineering Stores, which sells textbooks, stationery, and engineering merchandise. You can buy merchandise for every discipline; this is a great way of showing your EngSci pride! Engineering Stores sells textbook bundles for every discipline in first year at a discount when compared to buying them all individually at the U of T Bookstore. They also sell traditional engineering clothing items like leather jackets and coveralls (a.k.a. “covvies”), which you can purchase later on in your EngSci degree. As you have probably noticed by now, Skule™ has a vibrant community filled with fun events and traditions, and every year all these memories are captured in a yearbook – which you can buy at the Engineering Stores!
Engineering Society Office
The U of T Engineering Society, better known as EngSoc, is the student government at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. They run many academic-focused student services, in addition to planning and hosting lots of fun events that bring the student community together throughout the year. There are many positions within EngSoc, and you can get involved as early as the beginning of first year check out their website to learn how.
Lady Godiva Memorial Bnad Office
The Lady Godiva Memorial Bnad, also known as the LGMB, is Skule™’s student-run band. All engineering students can join the band at any time and go to as many of their performances as they would like. There are so many potential instruments that you can play as a member of the band, such as a stop sign, so you don’t need to have skills with an instrument. You will first meet the band during Frosh Week; this will be your first opportunity to join them.
Lady Godiva Memorial Bnad
Hard Hat Café
Hard Hat Café is a fully student-operated and -staffed food store conveniently located in the Pit. They sell lots of snacks from around the world, as well as pizza, drinks, cookies, donuts, and other small meal items. It’s typically open during class hours and they offer a daily discount deal.
Veda
The other food option located around the Pit is Veda. It is an Indian-inspired takeout place which has popular curry bowls, rice, samosas, spring rolls, and more. They also sell coffee, salads, burgers, bagels, and other staple food-court food items. Veda is open later than Hard Hat Café, making it a perfect spot for an afternoon snack or dinner!
Engineering Computing Facility (ECF)
This has a page of its own, but there are two Linux ECF labs located on the first floor of SF, close to GB.
Engineering and Computer Science Library
Did you know that U of T has 42 libraries? Look it up!
This means that there is truly a library that caters to every personality and learning style. The Engineering & Computer Science Library is the second largest science library at U of T, and it primarily serves Skule students. It also just opened back up after extensive renovations so go check out the beautifully redesigned space.
This library is located on the third floor of the Sanford Fleming building, and is a nice quiet place to study. However, it also serves as a great research tool for all your courses in first year and beyond.
Get to know the librarians! They are very knowledgeable about different academic topics, in addition to techniques for approaching research. They are always willing to hear about your project and help you figure out how to find the resources you need. You can also access their materials and chat with librarians online. This will be super useful for Praxis courses and design teams.
Main floor of the Engineering and Computer Science Library [Source]