OVER(LEA) DENSE

(Group project with Lane Johnson)

This project began with an in depth analysis of Thorncliffe Park and its present built environment, its residents and its future as a Metrolinx railyard. The area that is a combination of crumbling mid-rises from the 1960s and large industrial lots, is set to change drastically as it becomes a site for train maintenance and a station for the Ontario Line. Current demographics show a large immigrant population and the significant role Thorncliffe plays as an arrival city in Toronto with many of the apartment buildings converting sprawling communities into vertical ones. Presently, the proposal by Metrolinx puts an important aspect of these communities at risk: the local strip mall where so many of the businesses are directly cater to the immigrant population.

Our proposal accepts the imminent railyard while also providing an alternative to the lost businesses. Keeping the population in mind and the increasing house problem, the proposal consisted of 8 mid-rise buildings, overtaking the Costco parking lot. These consist of a combination of market units and co-operative housing units, with shared spaces and occupiable roof gardens. The ground level, meanwhile, is open for all members of the community’. With a curvilnear form that invites all in, it moves all the lost businesses into this space that can spill outdoors into this green space. An outdoor space that encourages more outdoor community markets that have become popular in this region.

Key Plans