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Throughout April UrbanToronto is featuring a special State of Environment editorial series to explore critical sustainability issues across our region.
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When you first hear the term 'sustainability' applied to new development projects, technologically advanced building designs that are able to meet stricter energy targets may be the first thing that comes to mind. There is a growing suite of goals, however, that are now being incorporated to both meet increased public expectations, while at the same time introducing new features that become must-haves over time. Alongside reductions in energy use and emissions, frameworks like the Toronto Green Standard have widened the scope of design considerations to include resilience, reducing long-term operating costs, ecological concerns, and occupant well-being.
Pressure to reduce carbon-intensive materials has been with us for years. The need to balance upfront construction costs with long-term performance has always been there, but is more acute now as fuel has become ever more expensive. Livability issues have been an increasing focus as suites have decreased in size; better use of limited space, interior air quality, and access to light have long been considered. Recent additions to that list though now also include elevator response times and abatement from rising urban noise levels.
While some of these issues are addressed separately, others are increasingly interconnected at the level of the building envelope. Systems such as balcony glazing are emerging as one way to respond to multiple pressures at once, improving acoustic comfort, extending usable outdoor space, reducing lifecycle costs, and contributing to operational efficiency. Companies such as Lumon Canada are focused on this intersection, positioning their systems as part of a larger strategy to address environmental, social, and economic demands within residential design.
As cities grow and conditions become more complex, early design decisions are carrying increasing weight, shaping how buildings perform not just at completion, but over decades of use. Municipal policy is playing an active role in defining what high-performance development looks like, with the Toronto Green Standard (TGS) setting an incentive framework for projects across the city. Targeted items extend beyond building operations to address environmental impacts, including the incorporation of landscape and habitat, the protection of site ecological functions, and measures to reduce bird collisions. While reductions in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions remain central, the TGS also emphasizes resilience to power disruptions alongside renewable and district energy systems. This expanded scope is a move toward more holistic performance metrics.
If some of these sustainability measures come with higher upfront costs, they are being increasingly weighed against long-term returns. Rather than treating them as optional upgrades, developers are re-evaluating how targeted investments at the design stage can reduce operating expenses, limit future retrofit needs, and improve asset value over time. Building systems that improve durability, energy performance, and occupant comfort are being considered through a lifecycle lens, where initial expenditures are offset by ongoing savings and reduced risk. The result is a shift toward more deliberate, ROI-driven decision-making, where early investments are positioned to deliver measurable benefits well beyond project completion, delivering compounding benefits over time.
With increasingly dense neighbourhoods, noise is emerging as a more prominent urban concern, with national surveys indicating that a majority of Canadians perceive their communities as louder than in recent years, particularly in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia, more than three-in-five residents report that increase. Sources including street vehicles, construction activity, and mechanical systems, are among the most frequently cited disruptions, shaping the day-to-day experience of residents. Research indicates that long-term transportation noise exposure leaves at least 18 million people highly annoyed. Beyond a nuisance, research is increasingly linking sustained noise exposure to health impacts, including heightened stress with effects on mental well-being, including 5 million experiencing significant sleep disturbance. Despite these implications, acoustic comfort is often underrepresented in sustainability discussions, even as it directly influences how people experience their homes and neighbourhoods.
In response, design strategies are beginning to address acoustic performance more directly, with balcony systems emerging as an effective layer of mitigation. Retractable glazing systems for balconies, for example, can significantly reduce exterior noise infiltration. Lumon is one company developing systems to address this issue. In-situ testing of Lumon's system in Vaughan has demonstrated up to 13 dBA of sound reduction (OINIC) when paired with improved sealing. By tempering noise levels at the building envelope, these systems improve indoor comfort while also enhancing the usability of outdoor areas. In urban settings, this added buffer can help bridge the gap between exposure to the city and the need for a more controlled, livable environment within the home.
As design strategies increasingly focus on getting more performance and livability out of the same building footprint, attention is also moving toward the full environmental impact of building materials. Sustainability is no longer limited to operational performance, but extends to the materials that shape them. Concrete remains the most widely used construction material (second only to water), yet its key ingredient, cement, carries a significant emissions burden, accounting for roughly 7% of global greenhouse gases and about 26% of industrial emissions. As governments and industry groups work toward net-zero targets, including national efforts to decarbonize concrete production by mid-century, pressure is mounting to reduce embodied carbon across the built environment.
This is prompting a closer look at how buildings can deliver more usable space and performance without proportionally increasing reliance on carbon-intensive materials. This is placing greater emphasis on envelope strategies that improve livability and usable space without requiring additional structural mass, an approach that again closely aligns with systems like balcony glazing, which improve how space is used without adding to a building’s core material footprint.
Access to outdoor space remains a major component of residential well-being, with research linking regular exposure to natural environments to lower stress, reduced anxiety and psychological distress, fewer symptoms of depression, and improved overall mental health. In urban housing, balconies often serve as the most immediate point of contact with fresh air, daylight, and views, offering a daily connection to the outdoors. Extending the usability of these spaces (particularly across more months of the year) can increase the frequency and duration of that exposure, strengthening their role as more than just an amenity.
Evaluating building components over their full lifespan is becoming a more central consideration, particularly as operating and repair costs continue to climb. Systems that improve thermal performance can contribute to measurable reductions in energy use, with studies indicating that enclosed or glazed balconies can lower heating demand by a meaningful margin while delivering annual energy savings. At the same time, durable materials and protected assemblies can extend replacement cycles, reducing the frequency of major interventions and associated costs. This approach is gaining relevance as maintenance and renovation expenses in Canada have risen sharply in recent years.
As projects navigate competing performance demands, a more unified approach to system selection is emerging, where investments are evaluated for how they contribute across multiple objectives. Balcony glazing can function as part of an envelope strategy, helping to moderate temperature swings and reduce noise at the perimeter, while potentially easing the need for more intensive upgrades to windows and doors in exposed conditions. By aligning acoustic, thermal, and durability benefits in a single intervention, such systems enable more efficient budget allocation, supporting overall building performance without relying on isolated, higher-cost solutions.
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Thank you to the companies joining UrbanToronto to celebrate State of Environment Month.
