The redevelopment of the Shops of Summerhill is comprised of a contemporary addition to an existing group of heritage commercial structures. The project provided a unique opportunity to create an urban pedestrian environment which promotes human interaction throughout the site. The design of the new addition takes cues from the original structures by creating a modulated threshold between the public and semi public spaces. There are spaces for gathering such as the patio; spaces defining entry points such as areas under the canopies; and spaces for spontaneous use such as displaying goods along the building edges. All of these offer users the opportunity to slow their pace, pause for a moment and reflect upon their surroundings. This diverse experience by the pedestrian is matched by the diversity of material elements of the facade which are all broken down into components based on the human scale.
Article source:Patkau Architects Inc | MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects
Campus Glue
The larger challenge of this project is not only to construct a great High Performance Sport Centre and a vibrant Student Commons but also to contribute to the coherent development of the campus as a whole. The new building needs to foster a rich set of relationships within, and between, the different programs it houses and its immediate and larger context, acting as a kind of glue than binds program to site, taking advantage of local opportunity. It needs to support student and campus life while producing unique and memorable new ‘places’ on the U of T campus.
Tags: Canada, Toronto Comments Off on Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport and University of Toronto Student Commons in Canada by Patkau Architects Inc | MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects
Fort York, considered the birthplace of Toronto, is a National Historic Site. It represents the single most important cultural heritage link to British military and social history remaining in the City of Toronto. The Fort’s layered historical themes and associations with a rich archaeological past re-enforces the need for a sensitivity in design to both the existing above-ground cultural heritage resources and the below-ground archaeological resources. The larger challenge of this project is not only to present cultural heritage and preserve archaeological resources but also to contribute in making the social, military and intangible histories of this site more present and palpable.
Charcoal House, situated in Pape and Danforth neighborhood in Toronto, Ontario, is deceivingly presenting a raucous box. The randomly patterned square windows on its façade and the hidden entrance door at the corner of the building are elements that not only make it difficult to associate the building with a single family house, but they also trick the eye to an extend where the scale of the house is distorted and one might not be able to guess the number of floors inside. Although the monolithic façade, the black brick cladding, states an asperous architecture, the airy spaces within the black box reveals the true identity of its functional spaces. The house as the architect describes, resembles a “coconut” which is dark and hard on the outside, white and delicious on the inside.
The Shaft House is an unexpected and exciting spatial experience that survives the limits of our ordinary living spaces. The two and a half storey detached house reevaluates functional arrangements within a narrow building while creating bright and airy spaces. Affordability is a value that the building successfully owns by integrating well thought low-cost strategies in the design process; from purchasing a modest lot of about 20 feet wide to choosing sustainable and cost efficient materials. Aluminum siding, untreated wood and recyclable rusted steel for the exterior of the house not only help reduce the costs of the design but t also tried to make a statement on organic behaviors of buildings by changing color while aging along with the house.
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