'RESPONSIVE MASSING’: Located between a single-family neighbourhood developed in the sixties and a fast-growing rapid transit hub, this multi-residential project demanded a new form of transit-oriented density that is sensitive to these two contrasting urban conditions. Aperture responds to its “single-family-transitioning-to-urban” context with a campus-like massing that combines housing typologies to respond to its context. A full-city block, its massing steps-down in scale from two, 6-storey multi-family blocks on the busy arterial, down to standalone single-family villas, sensitive to the single- family neighborhood to the north.
The building blocks are bisected with water gardens and bamboo courtyards that animate volumes with reflective light. The shallow massing results in bright, light-filled residences. Stratigraphic architectural themes echo the area’s mid-century modern architectural vocabulary. Cantilever decks and strong horizontal lines create a sense of lightness and lower the massing profile.)
RESPONSIVE ‘APERTURE’S: Façade openings are programmed to provide passive shading and act like an Aperture: opening and closing in response to the unique solar exposure of each façade. Apertures are deeper on the south elevation to provide increased sun shading, and more shallow and open to the North, to allow for additional light. These, together with other LEED Gold sustainability initiatives resulted in a project with 57% fewer CO2 emissions than the average US building of the same type and size.
WOOD-GLASS SKIN: Each aperture is framed with natural wood-in-glass; a building skin that is the first of its kind. A wood veneer encapsulated between two glass layers, the system allows the wood to be preserved in its natural form without staining or colour treatment; the richness of the natural wood grain is enhanced through refracted light. The wood-glass spandrel is insulated, improving the thermal performance. Encapsulated UV glass protects wood from weather exposure, eliminating the need for wood maintenance.
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Developer: Buffalo Investment Canada
Photography: Michael Elkan
