Canada Housing/Debt: Trust me, I'm a landlord.

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Health Services: Feb 27, 2009

So how does that factor into the Canadian context?

# ¿ Mar 27, 2024 00:05

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# ¿ May 18, 2024 09:09

Health Services: Feb 27, 2009

Part of the issue with bad unit layouts is related to the small floorplates (750 m²) that high rise buildings are restricted to by Toronto city policy. The city does not want anything like the larger (and more comfortable and better laid out) towers that were built in the 70s and 80s anymore largely because of wind and shadow impacts, I believe.

https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/96ea-cityplanning-tall-buildings-may2013-final-AODA.pdf

quote:

Regardless of stylistic approach, the design and placement of all tall buildings should make a positive contribution to the public realm, fit harmoniously within the surrounding context and skyline, and be consistent with the following:

• slender point towers, rising above well-proportioned and articulated base buildings, with a strong relationship to the existing context and adjacent public realm, are preferred;
• avoid free-standing towers without bases or a direct relationship to the street, e.g. “towers in a park;”
• avoid big, boxy, dominant massing, and large, elongated, or slab-like floor plates;
• embrace design creativity and variation in built form and architectural expression, including variation in tower shape, orientation, and the design of each façade for the purpose of visual interest and sustainability; and
• be innovative, but also appropriate in the choice of materials and construction methods, to make a longterm, sustainable, high-value contribution to city building.

quote:

Limit the tower floor plate to 750 square metres or less per floor, including all built area within the building, but excluding balconies.

a. Organize, locate, and articulate the tower floor plate to:
• minimize shadow impacts and negative wind conditions on surrounding streets, parks, open space, and properties;
• minimize loss of sky view from the public realm;
• allow for the passage of natural light into interior spaces (e.g. shallow rather than deep floor plans);
• create architectural interest and visually diminish the overall scale of the building mass; and
• present an elegant profile for the skyline.

b. Provide greater tower separation, setbacks, and stepbacks proportionate to increases in tower floor plate size or height to mitigate resultant wind, shadow, and sky view impacts.

# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 00:50

Health Services: Feb 27, 2009

It's not the sole reason but small floorplates encourage "creative" layouts while the marginal cost from building larger floorplates are small. So it's one of the ways bad municipal policies stop better housing from being built.

# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 03:05

Health Services: Feb 27, 2009

Perhaps you missed this paragraph?

Baronjutter posted:

If we want bigger units we need to stop treating floor space and housing like pollution to be minimized. A great strategy would be to let extra bedrooms ignore floor space restrictions. So a project that would cap out at 200 1br units can suddenly build 200 2br units, because that extra 120sqft per unit is "free" when it comes to the maximum floor space.

There's clearly been policies identified that restrict and prevent marginal increases in both unit count and unit size, and alternatives proposed.

# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 00:45

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