Adaptive Reuse Winner 2022

Adaptive reuse of municipal buildings

Winner: Adaptive Reuse Award

Project Date of Completion: July 1, 2021

The site, once owned by the City of Toronto, operated as a public market from 1837 to around 1900. The Water Works Buildings were designed in the Art Deco style by City Architect, J. J. Woolnough and completed in 1933. The adaptive reuse of the Waterworks includes the full retention and reuse of the machine shop building as a food hall and the retention of the northern portion of the complex to accommodate a mix of uses. The new compatible construction features retail at grade, a full-service YMCA athletic facility on the second and third floors and a residential addition above. The development pedestrianizes the courtyard and drive aisle, which are partially reinstated, providing permeability through the site.

At the machine shop, matching steel windows were installed throughout, including at the reinstated full height south openings. Where new window and door openings were created, new and distinguishable designs were used. At the north side of the complex where the YMCA required a higher performance level, new aluminum windows were installed with a pattern and profile informed by the original design.

Finally at the skylights, the clerestory windows were maintained and reglazed and the skylight structure was preserved unmodified. The lighting design also highlights unique elements such as the sawtooth window jambs and decorative quoining to expose a different character at night. New glazing was added on top of the structure, with no modification to the appearance of the remaining original elements. The existing Richmond Street carriageway doors were preserved in situ, and the west driveway iron gate was rehabilitated and reinstalled in the carriageway.

The jury felt Waterworks is a fine example of adaptive reuse and delivers meaningful heritage retention, while bringing a complex set of new functions into the site. The building’s former machine shop is repurposed into a grand, publicly accessible room; the 1930s facades of this public building are restored and retained, and they now sit in conversation with the black porcelain cladding of the new construction.