Sunrise 1 

95 Wood Street

Toronto, Ontario

Client: International Relief Agency Inc.

Program: 72 Units 47 Apartments 25 Townhouses

Cost: $6.2 million 1992-3

 

 

 

 

 

On a constricted lot in downtown Toronto, the architects were challenged to achieve 72 residential units within eight stories and include an interior courtyard. After a ruling at an Ontario Municipal Board Hearing, the project was completely redesigned. Within twelve months construction documents for the new concept were tendered and all municipal approvals achieved. Construction started in August 1992. The project features sloping metal roofs with gabled windows and Georgian decoration to reflect the character of the neighbourhood. Bay windows were used to increase the apparent size of the rooms as well as graphically connect the townhouses and the apartment building. All the rooms in the townhouses overlook the streets with half the suite entrances off the street and half off the courtyard. The landscaped courtyard covers a drop-off area for disabled access at the ground floor. The apartment building was set to the back of the property so that the mass of the building was not apparent from the street. The main entrance to the apartments is from Mutual Street up stairs that pass through an arched opening in the townhouses into the courtyard at the second level. The first two floors of the apartment building consist of townhouses entering onto the lane way to the west as well as the courtyard. All the apartments on the upper floors face either east or west to provide as much sunlight as possible.