YORKDALE VILLAGE PHASE I, NORTH YORK
YORKDALE VILLAGE PHASE II, NORTH YORK
STATION CONDOS ON THE SUBWAY
September 11, 2017
STATION CONDOS ON THE SUBWAY
Client: Brandy Lane / Shiplake Management / Wise Management
Brandy Lane has a well-earned reputation for enhancing communities with innovative developments. At Station, we worked with the development team to make the most of a barren and awkward site on the south side of Wilson Avenue just before it dips under the busy Allen Road expressway, next to the subway station. These employment lands, filled with commuter parking lots, aging office and warehouse commercial space, and some light industrial buildings, had been targeted by the City for regeneration by adding residential usage. The development group enthusiastically committed to building “not just units, but good places to live.”
Entry Courtyard
We redesigned the existing massing study and zoning envelope plans to increase efficiency and functionality. The two towers are connected at the street by a seven-storey podium with a grand two-storey entrance lobby and foyer with a centrally-located concierge station that connects to a landscaped main entry courtyard facing south. Above the podium is the Studio Club, an eighth floor amenity space featuring expansive outdoor terraces.
The 4,000 sf of retail space was consolidated at the corner of Wilson and Tippett to establish a presence, creating the street edge and pedestrian activity sought by the City.
Dynamic Facades
Because of the nearby airport, the seven-storey podium could be topped with a maximum of nine additional floors. We designed the podium in three sections, including a lower band that gives cover to the retail frontages. At centre, the Studio Club’s indoor/outdoor spaces overlook the street and the entry courtyard. The Club includes an indoor infinity-edge oasis pool, large party room, bar and catering kitchen, barbecue terrace with indoor/outdoor fireplace, games room, fitness centre, and three private indoor/outdoor party rooms
Each of the 388 units has a loggia, sun terrace, balcony, French balcony, or a combination of these outdoor spaces. To create some verticality and elegance, above the band, we broke up the balconies, cladding them with masonry piers, playfully offset by one brick at the 7th floor level.
The tower balconies were also offset to create a dynamic shear plane and were finished with spandrel and vision glass in three colours to create a vibrant vertical pattern.
From the lobby, the street dips to the west, requiring a long retaining wall which frames an active walkway, used by residents and visitors to the TownLofts.
Live-Work TownLofts
Unlike the garden homes that face the courtyard, these bi-level live-work units are accessible from the building interior as well as from the main street. On the upper level, they have a classic one-bedroom plus den layout with stairs leading to the commercial space below. Their total square footage ranges from 1,237 to 1,706 sf.
400 WELLINGTON WEST
August 9, 2017
400 WELLINGTON WEST
Developer: The Sorbara Group
A valued client wanted to create a 100+ unit condo that would stand out in a rapidly changing area - on a postage stamp site (19,000 sf) pierced by laneways and walkways. The City’s Public Realm Policy emphasizes pedestrian linkages and public laneways. Our client understood the value of existing laneways both as a feature of this historical neighbourhood and a contributor to the potential appeal of the property, which fronts on an avenue with a welcoming broad boulevard.
Our graceful solution maximizes the use of the site, above and below ground, with an L-shaped structure that echoes the quarter’s spirit and history.
All with nine-foot ceilings, the 102 units, ranging from 510 sf to 1,770 sf, provide a comfortable downtown living experience that is peaceful and sheltered, yet only a short walk from the entertainment district.
Contextual Scale
The neighbourhood’s human scale arises from mature trees and the many 19th and 20th century warehouses slowly being restored and converted for use by high-tech, arts, and entertainment industries. The area – and this highly contextual addition – pleasingly contrasts with the ranks of tall glass towers of neighbouring developments with its level of masonry craft.
Classic Masonry
Clad in metric Norman brick, the front 10-storey wing draws on the verticality of pilasters of nearby heritage red-brown warehouses, while the set-back 12-storey section in charcoal block was inspired by a mid-century warehouse with a more horizontal expression. In both, the inset balconies enrich the effect. Perfectly in proportion, the two masonry types course together logically and overall, the impression is of clean, classic masonry detailing, without decoration.
Pedestrian Linkage
Meeting the City’s guidelines and adding a sense of community, the pedestrian walkway through the laneway also provides retail opportunities at grade.
Space Efficiency
The residential lobby is recessed behind a generous landscaped forecourt. Keeping the frontage pedestrian-oriented, we tucked the ramp to the underground parking between the lobby and amenity spaces along a driveway leading to concealed loading spaces at rear. We were even able to provide additional parking for another of the client's developments nearby, maximizing the functionality of the valuable underground real estate.
LOGGIA
August 4, 2017
LOGGIA
Toronto Urban Design Award (Honourable Mention)
Client: Brandy Lane
Originally a bypass to the busy QEW, the Queensway became the spine of a sprawling inner suburb with homes, schools, and churches, but also fast food restaurants, big-box stores, car repair shops, seedy bars, strip clubs, and motels. The City saw potential for the area to become an active development node, encouraging densification through mid-rise development along the roadway.
Brandy Lane accepted the challenge, knowing that the desired financial results couldn’t be achieved within the six-storey limit. We satisfied the City and our client’s sales goals. Through extensive community meetings, we obtained approval for a two-building, 11-storey complex recognized by the Toronto Urban Design Awards used as a reference project for future area development.
The impression is of six storeys. Above two-storey live-work units, we designed loggias - garden rooms - for units on five storeys, added projecting balconies for those on the eighth floor, and terraced the upper floors.
Private Interior Park
The long, shallow site is separated from the residential lots to the north by a laneway, against which we placed a generous landscaped interior park, beyond the private courtyards of two-storey garden townhomes. By siting the buildings near the front of the lot, we achieved the necessary angular plane from the surrounding residential area to permit the additional height.
Similarly, on the street side, we created front courtyards a few steps down from street level for recessed two-storey live-work units, which are flanked by retail at each end of both buildings. This scheme deftly met the City’s additional requirements of increased green linkages to, and improved streetscaping on, the Avenue.
Amenity Bridge
The two buildings are joined by a dramatic amenity bridge, the Loggia Club, which houses a sky pool, hot tub, outdoor fireplace, fitness studio, change rooms, and dry sauna as well as party room with skylights and an extended balcony. The bridge acts as a porte-cochere, under which the driveway leads to the parking ramp and to the rear laneway.
Not surprisingly, although this was intended as a two-phase project, the initial sellout was so successful, the buildings were constructed together. In a National Post article, a local realtor declared, “this wonderful building set the tone for the neighbourhood” – and indeed, it has.
