Earth-Work/Frame-Work:
Davenport Housing and Coworking Hub

DAVENPORT VILLAGE, TORONTO | 6th Semester Option Studio
Critic: Barry Sampson

Project Overview

The premise of this option studio was to engage with the Stereotomic and Tectonic theoretical dialogue presented in Kenneth Frampton’s book Studies in Tectonic Culture and their application to a 6-storey wood frame building in the Toronto context. The studio aimed to develop a creative tension between the application of Frampton’s theories to the new regulations for midrise light wood frame construction and the irregular grading of Toronto’s Davenport Road. 9 sites located along Davenport road with a variety of grading conditions were developed by the studio participants. The site at the south-east corner of Davenport and Ossington currently exists as a Faema cafe and equipment services shop and has a grade drop of 1.8m from front to back. The site’s relation to davenport village and Ossington avenue produced a highly urban and can support a mix of uses that does not exist on the other sites along Davenport. This site also exists at a substantial transit node with direct bus connectivity to Eglinton West station to the north, Spadina station to the East, the Stockyards to the West, and Ossington station as well as the cultural vibrancy of Ossington avenue and evolving mixed-use district of Liberty Village to the south. A mid-rise building with a programmatic mix of a 2-storey podium with coworking space and cafe, with a 36-unit, 4-storey residential component above. Semper’s Earthwork/Framework duality drove the conceptual development of building facade and construction.

Existing Site Characteristics

Earth-Work/Frame-Work

The Earthwork concept for the project consists of splitting the podium mass and shearing it in order to create terraces that follow the sloping site. The podium shear creates a series of half level changes that not only allow light penetration into the deep floor plate but also creates a sectional variation that promotes views and interactivity within the coworking space. The housing component wraps the south-west corner of the podium roof which is further sheared to create a 1:20 ramp that frames a series of landscaping beds. These landscaping elements provide outdoor amenities space for both the coworking users and building residents and provide cascading bio-filtration beds that store and clean rain water for use in the building. The Earthwork component’s facade also engages with stereotomic punctures and shearing to create window openings and views.

The Framework concept of the building grew out of the studio prescribed tension that exists between the new Ontario Building Code 6-storey wood frame building allowances and the implied tectonics of light wood framing. A constant limitation in the construction and performance of residential buildings in Toronto are thermal bridges created by cantilevered balconies. In order to counteract this limitation, a self-supporting balcony concept was proposed which utilized a system of thermally-separated timber trusses. The undulating triangulation and checkerboard pattern of screened and void facade elements creates a woven pattern of ruled surfaces and shadows on the residential elevations. The undulating facade also creates functional opportunities in its void space which allows for window seating and a thermal tempered air buffer.

Sectional Perspective

Floor Plans

Views