Design : Development News

The finalists for the newly expanded Green Toronto Awards have been announced for 2011.

In the Green Design category Architects Alliance (for the Sackville-Dundas Apartments, part of the Regent Park revitalization), the Leon's furniture store at the Roundhouse, and Modrobes are up for the award, which according to the prize committee "rewards leadership in infrastructure, architecture of industrial design which complies with the principles of sustainability."

Finalists for the new Green Home award, which recognizes individual residents who are doing remarkable work on their own homes, are Anthony Ketchum, John Tabone and Lynn Brady.

The prizes will be $5,000 to continue the winners' green efforts, or to donate to whichever environmental charity they like. Winners will be announced at the Green Living Show on April 15.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Valerie Cassells

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City Hall is considering a site plan for an 8-storey condo on Dundas Street at Dovercourt.

Currently the site of a garage at 1243-1245 Dundas Street West, the new building, whose address will be 1245 Dundas West, is being developed by a company called 1245 Dundas West Inc.

The architects are Raw Design.

 "We looked at several options including angled facades but decided on stepping floor plates - progressive cantilever would be the most cost effective and also not result in unusual interior spaces with angled walls," says Raw principal Richard Witt.

The building, whose construction schedule has not yet been set, will have a glazing and metal panel facade.

Neighbourhood meetings will be held, but have not yet been scheduled.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Richard Witt


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For the first time, the Toronto Green Awards are this year recognizing individual homeowners' efforts to reduce their environmental impact.

John Tabone, one of the first finalists, submitted the 800 square foot East York bungalow he tripled in size over the past two years, while incorporating every green measure he could think of, and several he had never heard of.

"The flooring in our house is FSC certified bamboo called plyboo," he says of one of his new discoveries, "sourced from one particular place in China, done a sustainable way." The plyboo is processed without urea-formaldehyde, and is grown and harvested in a panda-friendly fashion, according to Tabone.

The project cost him $350,000, and included digging 180-foot holes in his driveway to facilitate the home's geothermal heating and cooling system.

One of the reasons Tabone is especially proud of the work on his Woodbine Gardens-area home is that he did it on a relatively reasonable budget.

"I see some of the huge eco houses in the more affluent areas, and clearly without a budget you can do more than we did," he says. "We tried to keep it in with a manageable budget."

The winners of this year's award will be announced on April 15.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: John Tabone

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Awards seasons continues and the call for nominations went out last week for the biannual Toronto Urban Design Awards.

The awards are meant to recognize design, architecture and landscapes.

"The Toronto Urban Design Awards is an exciting program that recognizes the important contribution made by the design and development community to the look, livability and vitality of Toronto," said Robert Freedman, Toronto's director of urban design. "I'm pleased as well to encourage design students to enter theoretical or studio projects relating to Toronto."

The categories are private and public buildings in context, small open spaces, large open spaces and neighbourhood design, visions and master plans, student projects and "elements," which includes smaller design features like benches, fences, light fixtures and works of art.

Nominations close May 19, and the winners will be announced September 19.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Bruce Hawkins

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The 10th annual Rex Awards for real estate excellent were handed out at the beginning of March, with Corus Quay taking the award for office development of the year.

The awards are handed out by NAIOP, an organization of developers, owners and related professionals.

Corus Quay is owned by Build Toronto and the Toronto Port Lands Company, developed by DTZ Barnicke Limited, designed by Diamond and Schmitt (exterior) and Quadrangle (interior), and funded by Morguard Investments Limited.

According to NAIOP, "The awards criteria focus on results (quality and performance), skills (teamwork, collaboration, innovation and creativity) and values (community and environmental awareness)."

Other winners were the TD Centre for office lease of the year, 7381 Bramalea Road for industrial lease of the year, Flynn Canada for industrial development of the year, Adelaide Place for investment deal of the year, and AeroCentre V by Sweeny Sterling Finlayson and Co. Architects for green award of the year.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Nathalie Pastuszac

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Imperial Plaza, the old Toronto headquarters of Imperial Oil, is having its guts ripped out to make way for some of the city's more distinctive condominiums.

According to Richard Mariani, marketing co-ordinator for the building's re-developer, Camrost-Felcorp, floors 5 through 15 are now having their interiors demolished, a process that involves "taking down the old flooring and walls so they can strip it down to the bones to see what needs to be done."

The 19th floor was stripped out this past summer, and the 20th floor of the 22-storey building is being kept intact for the moment to allow prospective buyers to get a look at the view and an idea of what the vintage 50s interiors of the classic building, designed by architect Alvan Mathers and built in 1957, look like.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Richard Mariani

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One of the harbingers of a new breed of mid-rise, high-design condos is nearing completion at College and Shaw.

Cube, designed by Raw and developed by Neilas Inc., is 21 units and six storeys. It's structurally complete, and the windows are up to the fifth floor, and the mechanical systems are being installed.

Completion is scheduled for September, which, according to architect Richard Witt, is "not unreasonable" though he wouldn't be surprised if it extended to the end of the year.

"Design sells," Witt says of the new breed of condo. "People buy iPhones and iPods because they're objects," a fascination that he says is now extending to the places people live.

"I think the thing with mid-rise architecture is that it takes a lot of creativity to make it work financially," Witt says, "so projects like that attract people who are more creative." And as for the developers, "It attracts more people who are interested and have big ideas, but aren't necessarily as set in their ways as the big developers."

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Richard Witt

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People really want another Loblaw by the waterfront.

According to Councillor Adam Vaughan, in whose ward a new Loblaw's is in the process of being negotiated for an old warehouse at Bathurst and Lakeshore, the packed public meeting last Monday was vociferous in its support of the project, despite some Heritage Toronto concerns about the old art deco structure.

"Heritage would like to preserve the building," Vaughan says, "and they don't like it when the strategy to preserve it is to recreate it." According to Vaughan, Loblaw's plan is to take it mostly apart and put it back together again to get around certain problems, like a 14-foot grade, and the support columns for the Gardiner Expressway that are built right into the warehouse's superstructure.

Given the popular support for the project, Vaughan says that "they question then becomes, can planning staff live with it. And it doesn't look like they can."

The project is being designed by ARK, a division of the Markham- and Shanghai-based Petroff Partnership Architects.

About 150 to 200 people attended the meeting at the Harbourfront Community Centre's medium assembly room. Vaughan estimates they had to turn away another 150 for lack of space.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Adam Vaughan

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Scadding Court and Alexandra Park will be holding two public meetings at the Scadding Court Community Centre to discuss plans and priorities for redevelopment of the areas.

"Scadding Court Community Centre, the Sanderson Library and the Alexandra Park Neighbourhood Learning Centre are starting to plan for the future by exploring options for redeveloping the important community assets at Bathurst and Dundas," the ward's councillor, Adam Vaughan, said in a Dec. 23 email to his constituents.

The development process is currently in its first phase, a feasibility study conducted by Levitt Goodman Architects, begun in October, of which these meetings are a part. Issues such as traffic, parking, zoning and community space requirements are all being considered, and the study is due to be issued next month.

After that, there will be a business planning phase, and finally a decision about what tack to take, which will involve more community consultations. There is no announced time line for this third phase, or for the redevelopment itself.

The meetings will convene on Jan. 26 at 6pm, and on Feb. 1 at 7pm. Scadding Court Community Centre is at 707 Dundas Street West, on the southeast corner of Bathurst and Dundas.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Councillor Adam Vaughan

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Behind the now familiar hoarding on the Yonge Street facade of the Toronto Reference Library, aka Metro Reference, the glazed glass wall is going in at street level, one of several renovations and expansions that will bring the famously inward-looking building out into the street.

According to Linda Mackenzie, director of research and reference libraries, there will also be a chain cafe and a gift shop that, she says, "will add some commercial activity on Yonge Street."

The entrance is also being reconceived by the Moriayama and Teshima, the building's original architects, in the form of two stacked transparent cubes that will serve as a welcome lobby, a gathering place and ultimately a place for library events.

"We did have a very recessed entrance under a canopy," Mackenzie says, "and now the two cubes combined will reach out to the edge of the property, and the curtain wall along Yonge will [also] be at the property line."

In the planning stages since 2000, and under construction for two years, the next phase of the Eastern Construction-managed $34-million project to be completed will be the expanded main floor, which is due to open in the spring.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Linda Mackenzie

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Robert Sidi is not a fan of tolerance.

"For 25 years, most of my best friends have been architects," says the owner of Kiosk, the furniture store that just moved its residential location from Dupont and Christie to King and Parliament, "and we sit down and tell stories of frustrations, when so much talent goes to waste, when developers refuse to stray even a little bit from the Home Depot standard. Standard this, standard that. The tolerance for this is 3 inches, the tolerance for that is 6 inches. And I'm saying the tolerance for this is 3mm."

At first, you don't notice much beyond the acute angles, the porous planes that make up the two floors that both divide and join the three floors of the new shop that specializes in four-figure furniture, with the occasional foray into the fives. The floors are white, which is interesting, and the 20,000 square foot space is made both practical and intimate by being organized into staging areas, where scenes are set with various pieces and sets of furniture.

But it's only when you look at the places where the walls meet the floors, and where two walls meet in a corner of the ceiling, that you realize there are no tolerances here. There are no mouldings, no baseboards to hide drywall approximations. Then look at how the sprinklers are centred perfectly above panes of glass, or electrical outlets set flush inside concrete columns, and you'll begin to get a sense that this space is very, very well constructed.

Designed by Vancouver architect Omer Arbel, with construction overseen by Sidi, who took a seven-month sabbatical to make sure everything was perfect, the shop is a window onto what Toronto might look like if more owners and trades demanded perfection of themselves and each other.

As Sidi says himself, "Who gives a damn about furniture showrooms? Let's have our institutions like this."

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Robert Sidi

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The St. James Cathedral's Parish House is getting its second semicentennial renovation care of Peter Clewes, Dalton construction and $16 million.

"The space was getting pretty tired," says St James' director of operations and finance Rob Saffrey, "which is probably being nicer than one might otherwise be."

They demolished the one-storey 1959 addition and are replacing it with a three-storey space, primarily to be able to offer parishioners and community members more space to meet and celebrate.

"One of the major programs we run is an outreach for people in the neighbourhood. We do a foot care clinic, cutting of hair, we serve a meal one day a week, so the space was not really adequate for that at all."

Other groups that have been using the space, and could benefit from more of it, include a mother-and-baby group, and a Muslim men's prayer group.

Saffrey says $5 million is coming from St James' coffers, and $11 million from donations and capital funds.

In addition to the space, St James and Clewes are also revealing some of the original 1909 architectural details that were covered up in the 1959 renovation, including some interior stone archways.

The renovation and addition, set to be finished by October, 2011, will also include a new slate roof, the cleaning and exposure of much original interior brick, and the installation of various audio-visual conveniences.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Rob Saffrey

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Commute Home, the Queen West design and furnishings shop behind the looks of Kultura, Nyood and others, has moved from its decade-old digs at 819 Queen West up to Dupont.

In the process, owners Sara Parisotto and Hamid Samad doubled their floor space, from 1,000 to 2,000 square feet, and given the new space at 367 Dupont, formerly a kitchen design store, and before that a Porsche repair shop, a $60,000 makeover.

"It has to do with the people you keep company with," says Samad of the reasons behind the move. "We're next door to Floorworks, and a lot of their clients would have similar tastes to our clients. We started out on Queen Street and our clients have grown. A lot of our clients now head design firms or architecture firms, and their budget has gone up a bit, so you want to be close to shops like South Hill Homes, and you're not far from the Designers Walk, Avenue and Davenport is very close."

Most of the extra space comes in the form of width, which has extra benefits for the showroom aspect of the business.

"We tried putting a couple of the items we had in the old shop," Samad says of their preparations for last weekend's soft opening. "They actually look better because there's more perspective; you can stand back and look at the items."


Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Hamid Samad

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Infrastructure Ontario and Waterfront Toronto has announced that a consortium led by HOK architects has been awarded the planning, design and compliance contract for the athletes village to be built in the West Don Lands to host the Pan American Games in 2015.

Mark Guslits, HOK's senior project director, describes the job as providing "detailed documents that describe all the elements of the village, both the overlay, which relates to the PanAmerican Games portion of it, as well as the legacy, which is what will remain once the games are over."

The plan is to create accommodations and facilities for the 8,000 athletes expected for the July, 2015 games, and to build it all to a LEED Gold environmental standard. Though there will be some temporary buildings, including welcome centres and meal halls, most of what's built will be converted into a commercial and residential community once the games are over, including both affordable and market-value homes.

The consortium includes Quadrangle, which will concern itself primarily with the larger buildings on the site, Dutoit Allsopp Hillier, which will focus on the community-related aspects of the project, and Montgomery Sisam, whose experience with Infrastructure Ontario projects will, according to Guslits, allow them to be "a guiding influence related to generating the documents in the fashion in which IO expects them."

HOK will take on the sustainability aspects of the village.

Guslits expected the request for qualifications (RFQ) to go out to the developer and builder community in the next couple of weeks, and figures the project as a whole will be done by the end of 2014.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Mark Guslits


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The latest in a string of 30 murals, each dedicated to an article of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights on its 60th anniversary, has gone up on a building opposite the Arts Etobicoke offices at 4893A Dundas West.

Known as Urban Canvas, the Amnesty International Toronto-sponsored project has so far resulted in 12 murals around the city, mostly outside the downtown core.

"Good walls for murals are hard to find," says AITO's Elena Dumitru in an email, "and we've had lots of challenges with trying to find walls in downtown Toronto (none so far, generally the available ones are used for advertising purposes as far as we know)."

The mural, dedicated to Article 13, is being touted as "Toronto's longest outdoor poem," and was commissioned by Arts Etobicoke from Toronto Poet Laureate Dionne Brand. The owner of the building on which it's painted is Pierre Seunik, head of the PS Group of Companies and president of the Islington Village Business Improvement Area.

"We showed him the poem," says Arts Etobicoke's fundraising and communications manager Ruth Cumberbatch. "We contracted an artist to create a design and ran sketches by him. The only thing he had concerns about where things like if they have to do snow removal in the alley, we wanted to make sure they wouldn't wreck the mural, so he asked us to keep it up a certain height."

The designer is Susan Rowe Harrison and the artist is William Lazos.

The 1,000 square foot mural was unveiled yesterday.

Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Ruth Cumberbatch, Elena Dumitru

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