Award winning architect Bruce Kuwabara will be the lead design principal for the new campus. A leading authority on design, urbanization and sustainability, Mr. Kuwabara is also the Chair of Waterfront Toronto’s Design Review Panel and is very familiar with the waterfront and our revitalization plans, goals and challenges.
Construction of George Brown College’s new waterfront campus is slated to break ground in 2010 .
DISTRICT ENERGY
Temporary District Energy
Construction of the temporary district energy facility in the East Bayfront is on schedule to be fully operational in June to service the needs of final development of TEDCO’s First Waterfront Place. The framework of the facility is now up and the exterior enclosing walls were recently completed. It is located south of Queens Quay just east of Jarvis Street and directly north of First Waterfront Place, which will be the new home of CORUS Entertainment. This temporary facility will be in use until the permanent district energy centre is built in East Bayfront. As part of Waterfront Toronto’s commitment to sustainable development, all heating and cooling needs for new waterfront neighbourhoods will be met through centralized district energy systems.
District Energy Centre
Updated schematic designs for the District Energy Centre in West Don Lands, which is being designed by world renowned firm Steven Holl Architects, were approved by Waterfront Toronto’s Design Review Panel at its February meeting. The updated designs include details for the landscape design and were required to meet budget reductions for the project. Planning for the project now proceed to the design development phase. The District Energy Centre will be located east of Cherry Street and north of the rail corridor and will feature the look and feel of the neighbouring Distillery District. It will include a transit plaza with a multi-coloured solar pergola and a reflecting pool and will lead to an elevated terraced green that connects the project to the future Don River Park. Construction of the facility will begin by the end of 2009.
Storm Water Management System and Parliament WaveDeck
Waterfront Toronto is finalizing plans for an innovative storm water management system in East Bayfront, that will be incorporated into a wavedeck at Parliament Street. Part of a series of iconic wavedecks being installed along the water’s edge, the 3300m2 pedestrian platform at Parliament Slip is an integration of infrastructure and design and housing a storm water treatment system within its structure. To help naturalize stormwater, the deck will feature three holes in its platforms which serve as a ‘Daylighting’ component allowing UV rays to penetrate the water and work with three underwater storage tanks to disinfect and cleanse. Adjacent to the deck will be an aquatic habitat creation made up of diverse materials to encourage a variety of aquatic life. This habitat will run the length of the 1.5 kilometre water’s edge promenade, and will serve as an educational showcase example of high quality design and infrastructure in tegration. Construction is slated to begin in April 2010 and all components of the storm water management system will be completed in early 2012.
Central Waterfront Construction Update
Construction of the Rees and Simcoe wavedecks is progressing on schedule. Both wavedecks will be open for public use this summer and will help provide continuous public accessibility to the water’s edge.
Demolition on existing structures and surfaces that required improvements have been completed at both slips. The installation of the new piling system, part of the necessary substructure for the new wavedecks, is well underway at both Rees and Simcoe. Using the help of underwater divers, the aquatic habitat at Rees has been completed with the exception of aquatic structures. Backfilling behind the newly constructed north wall at Simcoe is complete and work has already started on a concrete beam which will rest on top of the wall.
For more information please contact Andrea Kelemen at 416-214-1344 ext. 248 or [email protected].
DESIGN FOCUS
Pedestrian-Oriented Streets to be incorporated into West Don Lands
Waterfront Toronto, with support from the City of Toronto, has developed an innovative design
for pedestrian-oriented streets within West Don Lands. These pedestrian-oriented streets introduce a new street typology for the city which erases the boundary between sidewalk and street, and provides a common public space shared by pedestrians, cyclists and motor vehicles.
The concept has successfully been used in European countries including the Netherlands, Germany, England and France throughout history but was popularized in the 1970’s. Waterfront Toronto has adopted the Dutch term "Woonerf", meaning ‘living street’, to refer to this new street model. The detailed Public Realm and Design and Engineering submission is currently being prepared for City review.
UPCOMING MEETINGS/EVENTS
Queens Quay Environmental Assessment Public Meeting #3
The final public meeting for the Queens Quay Revitalization Environmental Assessment will be held on Wednesday, March 25. Further details will be distributed over the next few weeks.
Board of Directors Meetings
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
**please check website for agenda**
Design Review Panel Meetings
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
