UTSC Retail and Parking Commons Mass Timber Study
The UTSC Retail and Parking Commons is a major campus infrastructure project that consolidates surface parking, supports future academic growth, and establishes an active northern gateway to the University of Toronto Scarborough. The proposed structure accommodates close to 1,100 parking spaces, organized around a one-way, donut-style circulation system that supports intuitive movement, minimizes internal conflict points, and enables long-term adaptability.
The project was developed as a comprehensive mass timber structural study, advancing a mass timber hybrid parking and retail building. Working collaboratively with the City of Toronto, the design team pursued and secured an Alternate Solution to demonstrate equivalent performance in fire safety, structural integrity, and durability. Through this process, the proposed mass timber structure was successfully approved for permit, establishing a precedent for mass timber parking infrastructure within the city.
The structural grid and floor-to-floor heights were deliberately configured to allow for future conversion into a courtyard-based academic building, demonstrating the project's viability for long-term value and resilience. The mass timber strategy was explored to significantly reduce embodied carbon, leverage prefabrication for efficient construction, and improve the spatial and experiential quality of a typically utilitarian building type.
Client: University of Toronto Scarborough
Location: Scarborough, ON
Architects: Behnisch Architekten, gh3*
Consultants: Smith + Andersen (mechanical/electrical), RJC (structural), Vortex Fire (code), SLR (acoustics)
Located on decommissioned airport lands, the Blatchford Redevelopment is anticipated to be Canada’s first carbon neutral community. Future home to up to 30,000 Edmontonians, the community will receive over 90% of energy from renewable sources. The Blatchford Sewer Heat Exchange (SHX) Energy Centre is one of several energy centres designed to provide renewable energy for heating, cooling and domestic hot water to the Blatchford community through the District Energy Sharing System (DESS). Using state-of-the-art technology, the Blatchford SHX will extract thermal energy from the 2400mm combined sewer trunk located on the site. Sharc 880 packaged units for solids removal and heat exchange, along with several heat pumps, will together provide an average February heating capacity of 6,600 kW and an average August cooling capacity of 10,300 kW.
Situated in Toronto, the Stormwater Facility (SWF) treats urban run–off from the new West Don Lands development. While the project represents state–of–the–art handling and treatment of stormwater, the design for the facility enclosure and site also elevates the spatial role of the infrastructure, evoking other historic infrastructural works—the R.C. Harris Treatment Plant, the Bloor Street Viaduct, and the Hearn Power Station—whose architectural character has helped define Toronto’s identity. The site, on the northeast corner of Lake Shore Boulevard and Cherry Street, houses a facility comprised of four major elements.
