2015 Toronto Urban Design Awards Jury Report
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FOREWORD Every other year, the City of Toronto holds the Urban Design Awards as an opportunity to acknowledge, award and celebrate some of the city’s best projects and practitioners in urban design. This is an especially important year as it marks our 25th anniversary. The Toronto Urban Design Awards was initiated in 1990 and it is remarkable to see not only how the awards themselves have evolved and grown, but more importantly, how the caliber and quality of design has markedly improved over the years. We have come a long way in that time and today Toronto can proudly count itself amongst the world’s most influential cities for urban design. The Awards also serve as one of the ways the City of Toronto promotes and encourages better design quality and best practices in urban design. Excellence in urban design is fundamentally about how the quality of design reaches beyond the individual site or program to both respond to and positively impact the public realm and surrounding urban context. Such projects warrant recognition because of the importance that excellent urban design plays in enhancing Toronto’s livability, economic prowess, global profile, as well as in bringing a little more happiness into our lives by uplifting our everyday experiences – this is the essence of how good design progressively builds a great city. This year, the City received 90 submissions in nine categories. The esteemed Jury, comprised of Alex Bozikovic, Stephen Teeple, Sibylle von Knobloch, and George Dark - as our returning Juror from 25-years ago, were impressed with the overall quality of the submissions. Over the course of two days, the Jury reviewed the submissions, deliberating on all aspects of the entries, visiting short-listed projects, and eventually selecting thirteen projects to receive Awards of Excellence and seven projects to receive Awards of Merit. The Jury Statement and individual Award recipient comments contained in this publication include the notable features of each project as well as identifying shortfalls and ideas for improving on urban design across the city. As in past years, the Awards have been funded entirely through the generous contributions made by our sponsors. In recognition of our 25th year, the City was pleased to receive an exceptional number of Gold level sponsorships, and in particular the return of Concord Adex as a Lead Sponsor. The Awards program is made possible through the effort and commitment of a small group of City staff that work diligently to carry out the program. That team prepares promotional materials, contacts potential sponsors, compiles the submissions, facilitates the Jury process, prepares and publishes the Jury Report, and organizes the Gala ceremony. We would like to thank all of those involved – sponsors of the Awards, City Urban Design staff in the Civic Design and Graphics + Visualization units, the Jury that volunteered an extraordinary amount of time, and the teams of practitioners behind this year’s 90 submissions – for their hard work and commitment to promoting great urban design in Toronto. Jennifer Keesmaat Harold Madi Chief Planner & Executive Director Director of Urban Design City Planning September 2015 @CityPlanTO PLANNING A GREAT CITY TOGETHER City Planning Harold Madi Director, Urban Design Alka Lukatela Program Manager, Civic Design Carolyn Humphreys Program Manager, Graphics & Visualization Shawna Bowen Valen Lau Kevin Lee Jane Perdue Kristina Reinders Lara Tarlo Veronica Torres Design Services Nadia Salvatori Protocol Services Nahom Hiowt Tanya Kavcic Strategic Communications Bruce Hawkins TABLE OF CONTENTS AWARD CATEGORIES 2 JURY STATEMENT 4 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE ELEMENTS Mirage 6 PRIVATE BUILDINGS IN CONTEXT – LOW-SCALE 60 Atlantic 7 Market Street Development 8 PRIVATE BUILDINGS IN CONTEXT – MID-RISE Fashion House 9 Five Hundred Wellington 10 PRIVATE BUILDINGS IN CONTEXT – TALL Delta Hotel Toronto 11 River City 1 12 PUBLIC BUILDINGS IN CONTEXT Centennial College, Ashtonbee Campus Renewal 13 Fort York Visitor Centre 14 Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport, University of Toronto 15 SMALL OPEN SPACES Barbara Hall Park 16 VISIONS AND MASTER PLANS Winter Stations 17 STUDENT PROJECTS Snowcone 18 AWARDS OF MERIT PRIVATE BUILDINGS IN CONTEXT – MID-RISE B.streets Condos 19 PUBLIC BUILDINGS IN CONTEXT Fraser Mustard Early Learning Academy 20 SMALL OPEN SPACES Four Seasons Hotel and Residences 21 Shoreline Commemorative 22 VISIONS AND MASTER PLANS Eglinton Connects 23 STUDENT PROJECTS Pedestrianizing Blocks of Slab Towers 25 2015 JURY 2015 Jury Members 26 AWARD CATEGORIES The City of Toronto accepted entries for the 2015 Urban Design Awards in the following categories: 1. ELEMENTS A stand-alone object, public art installation, landscape element or small-scale piece of a building which contributes significantly to the quality of the public realm. Submissions may include, but are not limited to: benches, doorways, signage, canopies, porches or colonnades, gateways, light fixtures, walkways, stairways, barrier-free access, fences and works of art. 2. PRIVATE BUILDINGS IN CONTEXT An individual building or a composition of buildings, that achieve(s) urban design excellence and is precedent setting for a project of its type through its relationship to the public realm, pedestrian amenity, detailing and massing, and the natural environment. Submissions should document and highlight how the project contributes to successful city-building through its contextual relationship, design quality and measures of sustainable design. All types of buildings are eligible whether “landmark” or “background,” new construction or a restoration/transformation. Projects in both urban and suburban contexts will be considered. The Buildings in Context category consists of three sub-categories that reflect a range of scales: a. Low-scale: A low-scale project is four storeys or less, not withstanding its land use. Submissions may include, but are not limited to: multi-family residential uses such as low-rise apartments and townhouse developments; and retail, office, mixed-use or industrial facilities on main streets and arterials. Single-family dwellings (e.g. houses) are not eligible for entry. b. Mid-rise: A mid-rise building is generally taller than four storeys, but no taller than the width of the adjacent street right-of-way (i.e. typically between 5 and 11 storeys). Submissions may include, but are not limited to: mixed-use “Avenue” buildings, small apartment/condo buildings, commercial and industrial buildings. c. Tall: A tall building is generally taller than the width of the adjacent street right-of-way. A building that has both tall and mid-rise components should be entered in this category. Submissions may include, but are not limited to: residential or commercial buildings. 3. BUILDINGS IN CONTEXT - PUBLIC An individual building or a composition of buildings, with a primary function to serve the public and/or is largely accessible to the public. Public Buildings are focal points for communities of various sizes, from small neighbourhoods to a national body. Submissions should demonstrate urban design and architectural excellence through a relationship to the public realm, pedestrian amenity, detailing and massing, the natural environment and sustainable design. In this category, all building scales are eligible (low-scale, mid-rise and tall), as well as new construction and restoration/transformation. Buildings in both urban and suburban contexts will be considered. Submissions may include, but are not limited to: education, health care, recreation, cultural, community and civic buildings. 2 4. SMALL OPEN SPACES A small open space, generally related to and defined by adjacent buildings or natural/built elements, which provides an extension and addition to the public realm in an exemplary way. The small open space need not be publicly owned, but must be publicly accessible. Submissions may include, but are not limited to: courtyards, plazas, forecourts, gardens, trails, mews and small neighbourhood parks. 5. LARGE PLACES OR NEIGHBOURHOOD DESIGNS A design plan for a new or renovated large-scale area of the city. The project must be completed to such extent to allow the jury to clearly understand and evaluate the plan. The submissions in this category should state the existing conditions and demonstrate how City objectives for establishing a clear public structure of streets, parks, open spaces and building sites are met. The submission should also highlight major areas of innovation, particularly those related to infrastructure, environmental management and sustainable design, as well as provide evidence of community involvement and acceptance. Submissions may include, but are not limited to: large parks, area/district plans, neighbourhood plans, subdivisions, industrial parks, campus plans and streetscapes. Both urban and suburban contexts will be considered. 6. VISIONS AND MASTER PLANS Unexecuted visions for the city, studies and master plans of high inspirational value with the potential for significant impact on Toronto’s development. Submissions in this category may include but are not limited to: theoretical and visionary projects, as well as any project fitting the description of Large Places or Neighbourhood Designs that are unbuilt. 7. STUDENT PROJECTS Students in urban design, architecture, landscape architecture and other design programs are invited to submit theoretical or studio projects relating to Toronto. Note: The jury reserves the right not to present awards in every