Wednesday, December 16, 2015 10:00 am
-
10:00 am
EST (GMT -05:00)
Of
the
thesis
entitled: REZONE
AND
REURBANIZE : Toronto’s
Vulnerable Vernacular
Urban
Main
Streets
and
Maintaining
the
City’s
Local
Culture
Abstract:
It
is
the position
of
this
thesis
that
the
large
scale
condominium
(condo)
market
in
the City
of
Toronto
is
reinforcing
the
eradication
of
Toronto’s
vernacular
fabric. There
is
a
growing
sense
that
this
is
leading
to
the
loss
of
the
unique
feeling of city-ness within Toronto,
especially
when
it
comes
to
the
streetscape and
culture
within
the
main
streets
of
the
City. This
thesis
will
focus
on
exploring alternatives
to
the
existing
and
growing
condominium
typology
in
Toronto
that is
eradicating
the
small
grain
vernacular
fabric
along
the main
streets
of
the City
and
answer
the
question:
How
can
we
prevent
the
large
scale
takeover
of Toronto’s
evolved
vernacular
fabric,
while
still
providing
a
means
of
growth and
intensification
of
urban
land
use
and
building
density
without
sacrificing the
distinctive
street culture
of
that
area?
Similar to Christopher Alexander’s findings of identifying patterns in The Timeless way of Building and A Pattern Language, I wish to identify a way to create better community, diverse streetscapes, and a more typologically differentiated densification, enabling higher quality architectural interventions. Toronto’s existing architectural vernacular types will be examined and a more diversified network of possibilities and solutions will be established than is presently offered by the development industry. The current one-size-fits-all approach of densification detracts from the streetscape and culture of the neighbourhoods they are put in and is cause for a disconnect between the existing neighbourhood fabric and the new. This thesis will emphasize the importance of learning from existing fabric and conditions in an effort to provide the growing city with a means for intensification without getting rid of the qualities of the city that makes it Toronto.
This thesis has five sections providing evidence, research and data to support the need for a new, neighbourhood-centric residential typology that will provide the means for city-wide intensification. The purpose of the developed design strategy is to illustrate a design approach that sets out be a neighbourhood-centric intensification carrier, whose design principles can be used as a guideline for further development in other neighbourhoods within the city. The main goal is to better design residential types according to a set of guidelines that will cohesively bring the culture of that area together with a means for intensification and growth. Ultimately, the thesis looks to create a manual or list of guidelines for future intensification that can be easily translated and applied all over the city.
Similar to Christopher Alexander’s findings of identifying patterns in The Timeless way of Building and A Pattern Language, I wish to identify a way to create better community, diverse streetscapes, and a more typologically differentiated densification, enabling higher quality architectural interventions. Toronto’s existing architectural vernacular types will be examined and a more diversified network of possibilities and solutions will be established than is presently offered by the development industry. The current one-size-fits-all approach of densification detracts from the streetscape and culture of the neighbourhoods they are put in and is cause for a disconnect between the existing neighbourhood fabric and the new. This thesis will emphasize the importance of learning from existing fabric and conditions in an effort to provide the growing city with a means for intensification without getting rid of the qualities of the city that makes it Toronto.
This thesis has five sections providing evidence, research and data to support the need for a new, neighbourhood-centric residential typology that will provide the means for city-wide intensification. The purpose of the developed design strategy is to illustrate a design approach that sets out be a neighbourhood-centric intensification carrier, whose design principles can be used as a guideline for further development in other neighbourhoods within the city. The main goal is to better design residential types according to a set of guidelines that will cohesively bring the culture of that area together with a means for intensification and growth. Ultimately, the thesis looks to create a manual or list of guidelines for future intensification that can be easily translated and applied all over the city.
The
examining
committee
is
as
follows:
Supervisor:
Val Rynnimeri, University of Waterloo
Committee Members:
Terri
Boake,
University
of Waterloo
Rick Andrighetti, University of Waterloo
External Reader:
Mark Sterling, Acronym Urban Design and Planning
The
committee
has
been
approved
as
authorized
by
the
Graduate
Studies
Committee.
The
Defence
Examination
will
take
place:
Wednesday
December
16,
2015
10:00AM
ARC
2026
A
copy
of
the
thesis
is
available
for
perusal
in
ARC
2106A.