In partnership with Waterfront Toronto, Sidewalk Labs was developing innovative new housing models for Toronto’s Eastern Waterfront. The tenets of this development embraced flexible living typologies while encouraging innovation around modularity, affordability, energy and waste reduction, and other environmental challenges. Sidewalk’s goal was to introduce more affordable and sustainable housing to Toronto’s downtown area.
We were commissioned by Sidewalk Toronto to develop a research design study on micro-living and co-living in multi-unit residential contexts focusing on flexibility, adaptability and liveability. Our research explored a co-living model of habitation, identifying it as an effective means of resource-sharing and management. Numerous floor plate iterations were developed, demonstrating the potential adaptability of a modular, co-living typology. In order to make the spaces more liveable and enjoyable, private outdoor living spaces were incorporated, along with double height indoor green spaces with community gardens called ‘breathing rooms’. The study explored community building and social engagement through the design of various common areas, located in uplifting light- and plant-filled spaces.
