The practice of orienting a home to the path of the sun is as old as civilization itself, and in nature, significantly predates it. Just as plants and flowers orient themselves to the sun through phototaxis, the newest building designed by ODA New York, appears to be doing the same.
Designed for the emerging Lakeshore region of Toronto, this Bayside project focuses on several novel manipulations. By extending beyond a simple stepped distribution and strategically pivoting and sloping what began as an L shaped mass, ODA New York opens the vast percentage of its mass to the adjacent waterfront and it’s parks and promenades.
Almost as if planted from seeds, this building uses a staggered cascading orientation of the firms often modular approach to create a residential building where a staggering 71% of the units (163) have water views (100% above the 13th floor) compared to the far more traditional 25% in a standard extrusion.
Always seeking to provide and enhance connections to nature in urban settings, a simple 45% twist of the modules alongside creative staggering of the volumes – a hallmark of the firm – allows the creation of an astounding 68,550 square feet of terrace space.
As a result, 221 out of 228 units (97%) have terraces, and 163 units (71%) have water views. With a further tilting of the mass, this torsional shift opens 43% of 90 “back facing units” to water views, increases the size of the south facing terraces and even restores the water views to the neighboring condominium unit.
A natural extension of ODA’s quest to increase quality of life in urban areas through increased light, access to green space, and amenities that foster a sense of community, while providing the perfect platform to celebrate the best of lakefront living year round.
Amenities include a large communal terrace and pool area on the waterfront, with glass walls that open fully, a daycare facility, and 10,228 sf of first floor retail. This, like all of ODA’s buildings, not only challenges the status quo, but also offers a vision of a new urban reality.
“We are leading a quiet but unyielding revolution to replace the dogma of resigned and compromised city living for one that enriches our lives. We can and must rethink our reliance on the extruded big box concept and instead, design permeable residential buildings more as a collection of individual private homes.
Restoring our relationship to nature within our most private spaces is a crucial element in maintaining both our physical and psychological well being. Eran Chen, Founder and Executive Director – ODA New York. Source by ODA New York.
Location: Toronto, Canada
Architects: ODA New York
Total gross floor area: 262,000 sf
Number of floors: 24 Floors
Floor plate area: min 4075 to max 28950
Number of units: 228 Units
Number of units with outdoor terraces: 221 Units
Total terrace area: 68,550 sf
Amenities area: 13,500 sf
Year: 2016
Images: building renderings by by-encore, Courtesy of ODA New York