Project Summary
The Ontario Association of Architects’ Headquarters sits on a remarkable site, a natural promontory with commanding views of its surroundings. Just across the street, the east branch of the Don River meanders as it makes its way down to Lake Ontario, and to the south and west a seasonal creek forms wetlands providing habitat to birds, amphibians and even beavers. A few hundred meters north, the Moatfield Ossuary is evidence of the Wyandot village that once thrived in the late 1200s. And yet, if you looked at the immediate landscape beneath and around the headquarters—an asphalt parking lot surrounded by mowed grass and trimmed hedges—you’d be hard-pressed to appreciate the headquarters's privileged location.
Our proposal—developed in close partnership with VTLA, Ecoman, Rivercourt Engineering and Watercom Engineering, and shaped by our conversations with James Bird—sought to ground the OAA and reconnect the Association (and all those who visit it) to the land it is on.
Key Facts
Location
Don Mills, Toronto
Program
New entry sequence, parking, and reforested areas
Type
Landscape Architecture
Size
4100 m² / 0.40 ha
Systems
Integrated stormwater management
Consultants
James Bird (Knowledge Keeper), VTLA Studio (Landscape Architect), Rivercourt Engineering (Civil), Watercom Engineering (Civil), Ecoman (Horticulture)
Designed in 1992 by Ruth Cawker, the OAA Headquarters appears to float above its landscape–an extension of the sod and asphalt parking lots typical of Toronto’s office parks. But just beyond the property lines lay fragments of the Upper Don’s forests and wetlands.
Our goal was to reconnect the building to the natural systems that surround it.
Image above: in recent history, the shores of the Don River played an important role connecting people to nature.
Central to our design was the re-establishment of a forest.
The plant palette mirrors that of the surrounding Don River Valley, while also taking into account ease of maintenance, seasonal interest and specific locations and conditions. Much like in nature, the forest is designed to grow and change over time with an initial grid of quick-growing poplars giving way to mix of oaks, maples and eastern white pines.
Instead of seeing stormwater as a liability, our re-design treats it as a resource to be celebrated and be seen.
In a carefully choreographed scheme, the building’s roof drain is redirected away from city sewers to shallow but expansive rain gardens capable of retaining a 100 year event.
A dramatic waterfall, visible only during storms and near the site’s entrance, is a special treat for visitors arriving during a rainy day.
Creating a welcoming entry sequence—a place you’d like to hang out in rather than just cross as quickly as possible—was a key priority for our team.
Careful regrading allowed us to reconfigure the main pedestrian pathway into a gentle slope crossing through a variety of gardens and water features, improving accessibility beyond AODA requirements and celebrating the act of arrival.
Strategically located trees provide shade to balconies and benches, encouraging visitors and staff to step outdoors. The parking lot’s concrete pillars do double duty as the perfect surfaces for temporary exhibits, opening the possibility of a new community space beneath the headquarter’s building.
Of 19 anonymous proposals submitted, our entry was one of 3 honourable mentions. Check out our complete proposal below.