1.3K 
Throughout April UrbanToronto is featuring a special State of Environment editorial series to explore critical sustainability issues across our region.
* * *
Those of us who live in Toronto can forget of it as being a part of nature. Surrounded by steel, glass, and concrete, particularly in the inner city, Toronto can indeed feel quite removed from the natural world. But the slices of ravine parks that cut through the urban fabric, and the waves that lap on our southern shores, are a reminder that we do coexist with our plant and animal friends, and are far closer than we think. When animals do infiltrate our concrete jungle, the focus is usually on our beloved (and equally maligned) raccoons, or perhaps the pesky squirrels, or the odd fox or coyote, but there is a much more ubiquitous animal that often goes underappreciated: birds.
Despite its size and urbanity, Toronto can actually be a bird-watcher's paradise, as anyone who frequents Tommy Thompson Park can attest to. Our corner of the Great Lakes is situated at a confluence of two major migratory bird flight paths, the Atlantic and Mississippi, that every spring and fall see millions of birds pass through our skies on their way from the Arctic north to South America and back again.
But for many, their journey ends on the cold hard concrete of our city streets. It is estimated that each year, roughly one million birds die from collisions with buildings in Toronto alone, and across Canada that number balloons to around 25 million annually. Despite the scale of the issue, bird collisions can largely be avoided, and can be solved with simple design moves in our buildings that would save the lives of millions of birds.
In 2007, the City of Toronto worked with local charity FLAP Canada to introduce the Bird-Friendly Design Guidelines, which are widely recognized as the first of their kind in the world. Strengthened since, the ground-breaking document has been used as a precedent across the globe for bird-friendly design, and here at home it has been incorporated into the Toronto Green Standard as a mandatory requirement for new developments to adhere to. The guidelines outline design features that are hazardous to birds, and suggest design moves, facade treatments, and operational protocols that reduce the risk of bird collisions.
The two biggest issues causing bird collisions are night-time lighting and the use of glass as a building material, which as we all know has been employed extensively in the many towers popping up across the city over the past two decades. The intense light conditions of urban environments are extremely disorienting to migratory birds. Many bird species have evolved to travel at night, as it provides them greater protection from predators, while cooler temperatures allow them to expend less energy. They often use natural cues such as the moon and stars for navigation, but light pollution from dense urban environments obscures these important guides and causes disorientation. They often get trapped in the city, unable to navigate their way out, a condition that is referred to as 'fatal light attraction'.
Glass is particularly hazardous for birds in flight. Unlike humans, birds cannot perceive clear glass as a solid surface, and they cannot distinguish reflections in glass as mere images, instead mistaking them for real objects. As such, collisions occur frequently as birds attempt to seek shelter or reach a habitat seen through or reflected in a glass wall, often resulting in death.
Reducing bird collisions can begin in the massing and design of the building itself. Certain "fly-through" conditions are particularly hazardous for birds and can be avoided, such as glazed building corners; spaces with glazing on parallel walls, such that you can see outside through the space itself; glazed courtyards or atria that can trap birds inside; and glazed balcony or roof terrace railings. Applied building features such as overhangs, awnings, sun shades, or exterior screens can help to reduce reflections and transparency of building facades, but are often not enough on their own to prevent collisions entirely. Even a simple design choice to use less glass and more solid cladding helps to reduce collisions, in addition to the many other environmental benefits that a lower proportion of glazing provides.
Where glazing is used, there are two approaches for treating the glass itself in a way that prevents excessive bird collisions. Ever wondered what those equally-spaced white dots are that appear on so many buildings across the city? This is a ceramic frit applied to the glass for the sole purpose of reducing bird collisions, and it does indeed prove effective. Applying an opaque pattern to the glass is a common way to incorporate bird-friendly design as it allows the bird to perceive the surface as solid while still allowing it to be transparent for users of the building. Typically, the treatments are applied either with frits, films, or acid-etching, and the pattern must have a maximum spacing of 50mm (2") between visual markers.
The second approach is to change the type of glass used on the building. Opaque, frosted, or translucent glass, as well as glass block, are effective at deterring bird collisions as they appear to them as more of a solid surface. Another option is to use UV glass, meaning any type of glass that blocks or reflects ultraviolet rays. Birds are able to perceive light rays within the UV spectrum, so to them the glass would appear solid, whereas to humans the glass would still be fully transparent. Glass that reflects UV rays is also very beneficial for reducing the energy consumption and carbon footprint of buildings.
So which buildings are required to incorporate bird-friendly design? Within Toronto, it is currently mandatory for all residential buildings four storeys or higher; all non-residential buildings; and all buildings that are within a High Hazard Area, which is generally defined as land adjacent to natural areas, parks, and other open spaces as designated by the Official Plan.
Where bird-friendly design is required, it is not necessary to treat the glass throughout the entire building in the ways described above. On any building requiring bird-friendly design, the following areas must have some kind of glass treatment:
- A minimum of 85% of all exterior glazing within 16 metres of the building above grade;
- All balcony railings;
- The first 4 metres of exterior glazing above any rooftop vegetation, with a 2.5-metre buffer on either side;
- Any fly-through conditions, such as clear glass corners or parallel glass walls; and
- Any glass on elevations facing a High Hazard Area.
The result has been a myriad of glass frit designs across the city, many that one would not even recognize as being bird-friendly design. The opaque pattern on the glass does not have to be dots, it can be any pattern the architect or owner desires. Some great examples would be TMU's Sheldon and Tracy Levy Student Learning Centre (above), whose iconic glazing pattern not only helps prevent bird collisions and reduces solar heat gain but also defines the building's architectural expression, and the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (below), whose bird-friendly 'dots' take the form of figures engaged in various sports and activities.
In addition to these bird-friendly design choices, the Toronto Green Standard also dictates that all exterior lighting must be Dark Sky compliant, meaning that the fixtures are pointed downward and have a warmer light temperature to cut down on light pollution. The standards also mandate that rooftop lights and exterior facade illumination must be turned off between the hours of 10pm and 6am.
So the next time you are walking the streets of Toronto, keep a look out for bird-friendly design features on newer buildings - they are much more common than you may realize! And in the spring and fall, it is worth a trip out to Tommy Thompson Park or to one of the many conservation and natural areas in the GTA to spot these migratory birds as they pass through. Despite its dense urbanity, Toronto is proudly leading the charge to protect our flying feathered friends.
* * *
UrbanToronto’s new data research service, UrbanToronto Pro, offers comprehensive information on construction projects in the Greater Toronto Area—from proposal right through to completion stages. In addition, our subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, drops in your mailbox daily to help you track projects through the planning process.
* * *
* * *
Thank you to the companies joining UrbanToronto to celebrate State of Environnent Month.
