The Toronto Community Housing project involved design and technical leadership to create 27 low income households. This alteration is an adaptive re-use project that realizes the full potential of marrying excellence in architectural design with community needs.
Sustainable design solutions were applied to resolve deteriorating building conditions and for upgrades to meet current codes. We recognized that the historical value of the building shell, which was well understood by the community, also reflected valuable material energy embedded in the construction of the original building envelope.
The building is designed to meet a 40% efficiency improvement over the National Building Code for Energy Conservation in Buildings and meet the City of Toronto Green Development Standard. The large panels over part of the roof are photo-voltaic and offset energy consumption while shading amenity space on the roof, and extending the usefulness of the outdoor space into the spring and fall.
