TYPE Mixed-use residential skyscraper

LOCATION Toronto, Canada

SITE AREA 1,000 m²

PROJECT AREA 19,000 m²

PROGRAM 79 residential units, retail, commercial, institutional

STATUS Approved by the Toronto Planning Commission

30 Scollard Street

The tower is divided into two distinct components – the podium, which steps back from the lot line to expand the public walkway into a generous public thoroughfare, and the tower above, which contracts to a 15 meter by 26-meter floorplate. The two masses are woven together by the structural diagrid façade, which maximizes the otherwise constrained interior space by resigning the bulk of the structural system to the core and façade.

The underutilized laneway is transformed into a public promenade programmed with seating, landscaping, and public art, adding to Yorkville’s unique network of pedestrian walkways and public green spaces. The podium is cut at a slant, resulting in a protective colonnade over the alley.

The 10-storey podium features a double-height lobby, retail, offices, residential units, and residential amenities. The slender tower above contains an additional 52 floors, with a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom residences that culminates to a multi-floor penthouse suite.

Below grade, an automated parking system efficiently accommodates 85 vehicles and 97 bikes, and additionally contains storage, mechanical, electrical and back of house service areas.

30 Scollard Street, located in Toronto’s coveted Yorkville neighborhood, is located on a comparatively small and irregularly-shaped trapezoidal site. It is flanked both by residential and commercial buildings on two sides, hosts an underutilized laneway, and is subject to substantial setbacks above the podium’s roofline datum. Although these conditions pose a challenge, they are leveraged into design drivers that allow for spacious and light-filled residences above, and result in a bold addition to Toronto’s expanding skyline.