Dundas Gooch Recladding
Situated in a distinctive cross junction of West Toronto - just south of the railway line and east of the Humber River, 3725 & 3735 Dundas St West is made up of 2 nearly identical 10-storey tall brick residential towers. Due to the site’s angular orientation, the twin tower complex lacked a dominant visual sense of wayfinding as the main entrances are tucked behind the curving swoop of Dundas St W. The project mandate was an exercise of building envelope refurbishment that would significantly enhance the building’s sense of community identity and visual prominence in its local context and thermal performance. The project is an important candidate for sensitive and intelligent exterior makeover. The urban improvements are manifest, but the resultant increased comfort, increased durability and energy savings will also be significant.
Status
On-going
Project Team
Principal-in-Charge: Kevin Stelzer; Project Architect: Kevin Pu
Structural, Mechanical, Electrial, Envelope, Energy Simulation: Morrison Hershfield
5,555 m2
Area of Work
Description
30% energy consumption estimated reduction
Client
Toronto Community Housing Corporation
Uniquely, the Dundas Gooch towers angle their front entrances back away from the main street of Dundas. Instead, a blank wall of clay brick masonry on the short façade fronts the main street. This presented the opportunity of an integrated architectural facelift that would add complexity, verticality, and warmth through the use of a wooden textured vertical slat system – complete with elegant backlit signage. The existing masonry wall construction was made up of a rare 5.5” thick thru-wall brick masonry with no additional backup. This required the new overcladding to be designed for structural support from slab-to-slab. A specially engineered anchoring system suspends the new overclad of 6” of mineral wool insulation and our feature wall of long 2”x8” vertical batten system.