WINNER OF A 2024 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF EXCELLENCEThe need for supportive housing is at a crisis point across Canada. 11 Brock Avenue not only addresses this need, but does so in a way that understands the effects of good design and the critical need for a baseline of net-zero and low carbon in building construction. This project prioritizes community through the design of an interior single-loaded corridor that promotes access to light and views to the communal spaces along the courtyard. The street faade expresses the rigour of mass timber construction, while still being playful and achieving a balance between opaque and transparent surfaces. Matthew Hickey, jurorThe design aims to create a distinct, yet contextually sensitive addition to the Parkdale neighbourhood. The ground-level landscape includes native shrubs and trees, and hardscaped areas for seating and bicycle parking.LOCATION Toronto, Ontario11 Brock Avenue is one of five projects resulting from a City of Toronto partnership with the Federal Government to create urgently needed supportive and affordable housing under the Rapid Housing Initiative. Targeting housing-ready sites, the initiative funds projects that are fast-tracked from project start to occupancy within 18 months.Located in Torontos central-west Parkdale neighbourhood, 11 Brock Avenue will provide 42 new supportive and rent-geared-to-income residential units on a corner lot that has been vacant for years. The buildings fine-grained, four-storey Brock Avenue faade is vertically divided into six bands, and animated by a couple of curves reminiscent of an old rolltop desk. One band demarcates the main entry by rolling inward above it; an adjacent band unrolls above the ground at bench height, creating an informal seating platform. Along the buildings west and north facades, its landscaped border amps up visual interest by oscillating in plan between planting beds and hardscaped areas for seating and bicycle parking.The tiered courtyard adjoins support spaces and common uses on the ground floor, and above, is wrapped with single-loaded corridors to the apartments.Several other congenial ideas coalesce in and around the buildings tiered, south-facing courtyard. At grade, the buildings dining hall and lounge, lobby corridor, and staff spaces all face onto a compact courtyard patio, providing the eyes on the street that help make this secluded space feel like a safe, sociable hub. The laundry room, conceived here as a social space rather than a purely utilitarian one, also has a courtyard view. A series of outdoor areas cascade down towards the ground-floor patio: the topmost tier is a garden terrace, with picnic tables and raised accessible community-garden planting beds. Single-loaded corridors wrap the outdoor space on three sides, and include large window-boxes with seating, so that residents can sit by a window with views to the shared social area.Screenshot11 Brock Avenue is an all-electric, mass timber building, designed to meet net zero and low embodied carbon requirements. A wide band of extensive green roof aids in retaining stormwater and promotes biodiversity; the roof has also been designed to support a planned, future photovoltaics installation.The layout of the residential units is optimized for simplicity and efficiency, and ensures privacy by not having any units face each other. Using a regular grid layout and repeating stacked suites improves the efficiency of the design and the speed of construction. More than 30 percent of the homes this project provides are accessible suites.CLIENT Govan Brown and Associates Ltd., City of Toronto | ARCHITECT TEAM Aaron Budd (MRAIC), Sam Dufaux, Joseph Khan, Hayley Imerman (MRAIC), Hugo Flammin, Jessica Daga, Evan Wakelin, Aziza Asat, Jina Lee, Luke Kairys, Valerie Hough, Bonnie Chuong, Hillary Eppel, Huy Pham | TRANSPORTATION BA Consulting Group | AREA 1,055 m2 | BUDGET Withheld | STATUS Under construction | ANTICIPATED COMPLETION 2025As appeared in the December 2024 issue of Canadian Architect magazineSee all the 2024 Awards of Excellence winnersYou can read ourjurys full comments here.The post 11 Brock appeared first on Canadian Architect.