Transit-Supporting and Human-Scaled; Mid-Rise Buildings
Taller than typical houses but smaller than towers, mid-rise buildings are great at defining the street and creating that comfortable pedestrian feel. They maintain open sky views and sunlight all the while meeting the demand for connected urban living our cities have.
In 2010, the City of Toronto approved a detailed strategy and design guidelines document that will encourage growth on Avenues through the creation of more mid-rise buildings. But as the last 13 years have proven, turning this strategy into reality has had its challenges.
For over a decade now, a simple tool had a tremendous impact on how mid-rise buildings were designed and built – Angular Planes.
The objective behind using Angular Planes was achieving transition in scale. A transition between low-rise buildings in the heart of our “stable” neighbourhoods and the Avenues, main streets that should absorb Toronto’s growth
The result? Inefficient and expensive buildings.