You’re Invited: Celebrate York Community Centre’s Start of Construction in Toronto Dec.18, 2012

Above: York Community Centre Conceptualization by Perkins+Will

The architecture and design firm for the new York Community Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is Perkins+Will.

This video presents Peter Busby on Sustainability from Perkins+Will on Vimeo:

Peter Busby tours a project site in Vancouver and discusses Sustainable Design

York Community Centre will be the first-ever full-service community centre in the former City of York:

Completion Date: Fall 2014
- Area: 6,503 square metres / 70,000 square feet
- Designed to: LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver standing
  - “In LEED 2009 there are 100 possible base points distributed across five major credit categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, plus an additional 6 points for Innovation in Design and an additional 4 points for Regional Priority. Buildings can qualify for four levels of certification:
    - Certified: 40–49 points
    - Silver: 50–59 points
    - Gold: 60–79 points
    - Platinum: 80 points and above”
- To meet: Toronto’s Green Standard Tier 1 level
  - Toronto Green Standard (TGS) is a two-tier set of performance measures, with supporting guidelines, for sustainable site and building design for new development
    - Tier 1 (required) and Tier 2 (voluntary) TGS performance measures
    - New planning applications, including zoning bylaw amendments, site plan approval and draft plan of subdivision, are required to meet Tier 1 of the environmental performance measures
  - Its purpose is to promote site and building designs that address air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, water quality and efficiency, solid waste and ecology
  - The Toronto Green Standard is a key strategy of the City’s Climate Change Action Plan, “an aggressive environmental framework aimed at reducing Toronto’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050”
  - “Achieving the TGS performance measures will help meet this goal, while improving air and water quality, and enhancing the natural environment”

The following Canadian experts from the architecture and design firm, Perkins+Will, include:

Phil Fenech Sports + Recreation Global Market Leader (Canada)

Duff Balmer Design Principal, Toronto

D’Arcy Arthurs Managing Director, Ontario

Here is their description of the new York Community Centre which will be completed in 2014:

“The York Community Centre is a 70,000 square foot building located in North Toronto. The program of the building includes an aquatics center, gymnasium, fitness center, pre-school room and multi-use rooms with associated ancillary and change room spaces.

Located at a major arterial intersection, the building asserts a strong urban presence that helps to reinforce its important civic function. Designed to act as a new community focal point for four distinct neighborhoods, the building provides much needed new facilities and programs in an economically challenged zone of the city.

Internally, the site benefits from a direct adjacency to a large existing park and a beautiful natural ravine. Conceived as a large pavilion like structure, this setting creates a natural backdrop to many of the spaces. The building’s architecture capitalizes on this relationship with a light and transparent structure that invites panoramic views of the park and a large communal porch that enables activities to spill outside during the summer months.”

Perkins+Will

The York Community Centre’s features include:

a double gymnasium

mezzanine running track

a six-lane 25-metre indoor training pool

indoor leisure pool

a green approach to both the site and building employing several energy and water conservation features in its design:
- A large green roof serves as a prominent feature of the design, which also doubles as a rainwater collector and sunlight harvester