805 strachan

“The last decade has revealed an accelerated erosion of the Public Domain - replaced by increasingly sophisticated and entertaining forms of the Private.”

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- Joshua Ramus

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Situated west of the downtown core of Toronto and north of Garrison Commons, 805 Strachan looks to address the lack of truly inclusive public spaces within the city where unintentional barriers are created in many buildings .  By creating a porous ground plane and utilizing programmatic and sectional strategies, the notion of a truly public building can become a reality. 

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Large public programs such as a library, food hub and recreation center are introduced with their entrances along the highly transparent ground plane. At major entrances the ground floor is sunk 3 feet in order to provide a buffer zone between the busy streets of Strachan and Wellignton. All major entrances allow for a visual connection to a spacious courtyard and spill space of many programs. 

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The site began as two separate halves divided by the rail corridor. The intention to seal over the train track is to provide a connecting feature not only for the building but to allow for activated pedestrian and cycling traffic along the rail corridor leading people to the rest of the designed master plan.

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Beyond creating a porous ground plane, a move of carving a continuous ramp that moves from exterior to interior is driven by the intent to elevate the ground plane.  Along the journey of the ramp various program elements are carved out and influenced by the sloping nature of the ramp. The most public of space are left glazed while the upper portions of the building are contrasted by varying densities of metal panels to help reinforce the notion of a carved mass. The patterning of the facade is generated as a result of a modular system that decreases in density as it nears public and communal / social spaces of the work spaces.