a Neighbourhood

A radically
original design.

Our objective is to create comfortable outdoor space for year-round use. The built form is reimagined with a central courtyard bound by large open-air corridors that double as social spaces throughout all seasons. Biodiverse landscaping actively supports outdoor comfort by providing shade as well as protection from wind, rain and snow. The design affords natural ventilation and natural daylighting for every unit.
Hours Per Day
of Sunlight
Hours Per Day
of Sunlight

Creating
Microclimates

The massing was optimized to maximize sun exposure in the courtyard.
‍

Summer

Viability of social spaces is studied using a measure of thermal comfort, or how cool or warm one feels based on quantifiable metrics such as air temperature, humidity, sunlight, activity level, and wind. In collaboration with RWDI, a model of thermal comfort was built to optimize social spaces for all-season use. A study of summer and winter seasons reveals consistently comfortable conditions in the courtyard and open-air corridors.

Winter
Ensuring the courtyard has sufficient solar exposure enables large trees to prosper. These trees provide natural beauty and also function to add shade, privacy and buffer wind, rain, and snow.
The combination of sun exposure and breeziness through the massing design combined with tree growth and biodiversity creates a microclimate that supports year-round programming. The courtyard becomes a hub for meeting neighbours, sharing experiences, holding social events, and where families and children will play and spend time.

Creating
Microclimates

The viability of the courtyard for year-round activity can be quantified using a metric of thermal comfort, which is how cool or warm one feels in a given environment. This is an important concept because thermal comfort is not solely dependent on air temperature but rather a combination of inputs such as temperature, sunlight and wind.
Program

Wind conditions can have profound effects on the comfort of a space. For instance, windy conditions may be uncomfortable but a nice breeze can enhance comfort in hot weather. For this reason, it was necessary to perform wind studies to understand how wind interacts with the space. From here, we could design a structure that can harness wind to enhance the function of the building and not detract from it. Here, wind provides an efficient mechanism to passively cool the building through passive ventilation.

5 Excess water is drained to a central cistern for later use as greywater and irrigation. Managing stormwater on-site reduces the impact on municipal sewer systems and reduced operating costs by reusing water.
4 In addition to providing shade, vegetated facades help manage stormwater using natural hydrological cycles. Collecting runnoff from the corridors and storing it in te potted soil supports biodiverse vegetation while runoff.
2 December - Winter Solstice
3 June - Summer Solstice
1 Single loaded corridors drive natural ventilation by using pressure differences between the exterior facade and the courtyard. Residents benefit from the improved air quality and reduced cooling costs

Volumetric
Landscape

The massing design provides opportunity to extrude courtyard landscaping upwards, providing tenants on all floors equitable access to this natural setting. The volume of the courtyard is transformed into a system for supporting biodiversity.

Plants' metabolic process is based on daylight. Each plant species has an optimal daylight intensity that maximizes photosynthesis and plant growth.

A good metric to measure Daylight for plants is Daily light integral (DLI). It is expressed as moles of light (mol) per square meter (m-2) per day (d-1), or: mol/m2/day (moles per day). This gives the number of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) that are delivered to a specific area over a 24-hour period. PAR is the portion of the light spectrum utilized for photosynthesis.

Plants' metabolic process is based on daylight. Each plant species has an optimal daylight intensity that maximizes photosynthesis




A good metric to measure Daylight for plants is Daily light integral (DLI). It is expressed as moles of light (mol) per square meter (m-2) per day (d-1), or: mol/m2/day (moles per day). This gives the number of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) that are delivered to a specific area over a 24-hour period. PAR is the portion of the light spectrum utilized for photosynthesis.

East Courtyard Elevation
March
East Courtyard Elevation
June
West Courtyard Elevation
June
West Courtyard Elevation
March

The inclusion of trees on the higher floors, planter boxes on the balconies and along corridors, green roofs, and the planted vertical screen of the west-facing courtyard façade provide a variety of habitat types to encourage a diverse range of birds, insects, and animals.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Close contact with nature serves as an optimal frame for a healthy, social lifestyle.
Natural elements are an ever present experience at 1925 Victoria Park. They are integrated at every level of the building design. Here, we show the open-air corridor which welcomes sunlight, air, and brings in the natural world. Integration of these natural elements into a whole building system is critical for producing a healthy and enriching environment.

Simply
Sustainable

1925 Victoria Park is designed to achieve the highest standards of sustainability, surpassing the City of Toronto’s Green Standard Tier 4 and approaching net-zero

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a series of global objectives established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, aimed to achieve a sustainable future for all.

‍1925 Victoria Park focuses on six of these SDGs within its design and implementation:

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