Toronto's suburbs sprawl across thousands of square kilometres of land, sporting winding streets lined mostly with single detached homes, most of them designed as knock-offs of Victorian farmhouses, albeit with monster garages appended out front. Suburban Burlington is no exception, and that's why it's always refreshing to see design from our own time proposed for new residential building.

Link is a six-storey condo and townhome development located where Dundas Street crosses the deep and lushly green Bronte Creek ravine. Adi Development Group, following the success of their first project, another Burlington Condominium called Mod'rn, have opted here to engage RAW Design, best known in Toronto for their contemporary mid-rise condominium designs. RAW knows how to animate buildings for the street, and here they knit in Bronte Creek's natural elements too.

LINK Condos + Lofts in Burlington by RAW Design for Adi Development Group and Fortress RDI

Two-storey retail units will line the building's sidewalk spaces, creating appealing, airy spaces for detail-concious merchandisers. Up above, condominium units will be marked by balconies that are sheltered while still reaching out to the creek valley: splashes of colour will enliven the shifting matrix of cubes. The four-building community is seamlessly connected by two multi-level glass pathways. Bathed in light by modulating LEDs at night, the two links will make public art out of circulation space for the residents.

Porte Cochère at LINK Condos + Lofts in Burlington by RAW Design for Adi Development Group and Fortress RDI

Roland Rom Colthoff, Principal at RAW, had a mission at LINK given to him by the developer: “ADI is not about the past. LINK pushes Burlington to break out of its comfort zone—the architecture and design caters to those who are optimistic about the future".

RAW has oriented the U-shaped building towards Bronte Creek, maximizing the integration of the natural setting into the modern development. LINK’s courtyard has a unique linear slope towards Bronte Creek, inspired by New York’s High Line. A concrete deck, covered in mature landscaping, extends from the building's second storey, enabling at-grade parking below the court and a natural, green ramp down to the creek.

LINK Condos in context facing the Bronte Creek Valley, image courtesy of RAW Design

Saud Adi, COO of Adi Development Group, wants people to know his relatively young company is committed to getting the details right. Their first project, Mod’rn Condominium, was the winner of four Hamilton-Halton Home Builders Association (HHHBA) 2012 Awards of Distinction, including Project of the Year, and nominated for 2013 Most Outstanding Mid-rise Development by the Ontario Home Builders Association (OHBA). “We have worked hard to deliver the best product on the market, and the industry experts recognize this. We are proud to put Burlington in the centre of the contemporary design movement.”

Want to know more about Link Condos + Towns? Check out UrbanToronto's dataBase entry, linked below. Want to get in on the discussion? Choose one of the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.