Rascacielo
Senior Member
Hopefully this will be a template for future block-long developments in the city.
Toronto Mirvish Village (Honest Ed's Redevelopment) | 85.04m | 26s | Westbank | Henriquez Partners
- Thread starter TorontoArchitect
- Start date
Johnny Au
Senior Member
That template would be good for block-long developments with our without holdouts in the way.
Architects have to take into account potential holdouts as is with the case of the Alternative Thinking holdout within the Mirvish Village plan.
TheKingEast
Senior Member
Now this is intereting.
UtakataNoAnnex
Senior Member
*Anxiously awaiting to see what windows they'll be using between those pretty pre-fabs and hoping it won't be G+C fire sale special*
afransen
Senior Member
I'm kind of surprised that this isn't more commonly used. It has long been well-known in 'new urbanist' circles that having more fine-grained street presence leads to more walkability. Maybe it looks a bit more jumbled in the rendering or some decry it as 'faux' when it is one big building behind it, but it seems to work reasonably well from the pedestrian perspective.
innsertnamehere
Superstar
Do I spy them starting forming for the west block finally?
AlbertC
Superstar
March 20, 2021
AlexBozikovic
Active Member
From Thursday’s meeting
clarkburglar
New Member
will the backs of the buildings on the park (the old houses) have shops or anything or will they just be blank? Also, The backs of the privately owned houses facing the laneway part of the park would be a good place for Toronto to pilot laneway apartment buildings like you can do in places in Vancouver now, since there'll already be a lot of traffic there. It would animate the lane even more.
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Northern Light
Superstar
On your Twitter feed you ask how the park might hold up to abuse.
The species list will matter.
But I do see some problems in the renders/layout.
While lovely in theory to have people walk a meandering route; most people who use park paths do so to get from point A to point B.
It's just a convenient, nice route.
As such, it's generally a good idea to have paths follow those desire lines (where are people who walk here going, what is the shortest route to get there).
But, you can 'force' people to walk a certain way, if you feel there's a great design reason to do so.
But you have to 'force'.
Note this little Claude Cormier park in the 88 Queen North development:
Photo Credit to forum member @skycandy
Cormier installed a little mini-fence to keep people and dogs off his garden.
Whether one uses that method, or seat walls, edges with vigorous shrubs that people just won't choose to walk through; you need to either actively discourage people walking certain ways, or make it easy for them
to walk the way they wish.
You can even do both.
The design referenced in your thread is attractive, but it needs a touch of pragmatism in that regard.
To illustrate this off one of the park renders:
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Northern Light
Superstar
From the City meeting, and @AlexBozikovic 's Twitter feed, here are the images of the proposed Park in Mirvish Village.
AlexBozikovic
Active Member
I agree, and I also think people will let their dogs ravage the plantings if they are not fenced or walled off. Yes, there are numerous other places to take your dog. That never matters.
Northern Light
Superstar
Agreed, this is a risk. As noted, species list will also matter. There are dog-resistant planting choices; but many L.A.s don't either aren't familiar w/them, or don't want to include them in their design.
There are species that can withstand a fair of bit of dog urine.
And others which can withstand a bit of trodding or digging.
Some others still that dogs just won't want to wander through. (dense shrubbery, plants w/thorns)
Here's a list of plants that can withstand dog urine (I could write a longer one, but it's a good little list)
One cute trick I've seen done, is to have sprinkler heads in a planting bed, that are motion-activated.
Step in a planting bed, get squirted w/water.
Probably not in the parks budget, but still an idea.
Jasonzed
Senior Member
syn
Senior Member
You know I when I first saw the images I thought "I'll be curious to read what NorthernLight thinks of this when it's done". Looks like you're years ahead of the rest of us!
