The Leaside Innovation Centre Exchange was designed to complement the existing site. Inspired by classic flat-iron design and the industrial history of the area, the building blends seamlessly into the neighbourhood with a mixture of modern and historical architectural features. Plenty of outdoor space allows for easy collaboration and ample bike parking. Car commuters can access the underground lot via a ramp to the 1st level, then a parking elevator to the lower 2nd level.

Project Description: The Leaside Innovation Centre

The Leaside Innovation Centre is a state-of-the-art boutique office building designed to meet the needs of the high-tech industry in southern Ontario with innovation and sustainability as guiding principles.

The site at 154 Wicksteed Ave. is a gateway site to the emerging Leaside business district. The site enjoys a prominent location at the bend in the road approaching from the west along Wicksteed Ave. Known as the Leaside Innovation Centre, the building will be one of Toronto’s first mass timber buildings taking advantage of recent changes in the Ontario Building Code allowing the use of heavy timber structure up to 6 storeys.

Mass timber structure is the contemporary equivalent of the beloved industrial warehouse structures that have populated the downtown core for well over a century and are now being repurposed for housing and office space to meet the needs of the 21^st century. The mass timber structure (comprised of Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) floor plates and glulam beams and columns) is substantially lower in its carbon footprint than steel or concrete. The harvesting of renewable forest products to fabricate CLT captures atmospheric carbon helping to mitigate the impact of climate change by storing the embodied carbon in the finished product. In addition, the CLT structure weighs approximately 25% less than a comparable concrete structure reducing the load on the foundation and allowing for reduced concrete use in the foundations.

The irregular shape of the site allowed us to create a unique office building by using a long shallow floor plate for the building that will be abundant in natural light. The east end of the building comes to a prominent point reminiscent of the historical 19^th and early 20^th C flat iron buildings like the Gooderham Building in Toronto and Fuller Building in New York. A lightweight thin-brick veneer panel system will be used to reduce overall weight while quietly referencing the industrial heritage of the Leaside Business Park. The 40% glass to wall ratio allows for greater overall R values as well, reducing the size of mechanical systems required in curtainwall buildings. The exterior walls will be panelized with high levels of insulation and improved air tightness.

The interiors will have exposed wood, 11’ high ceilings free of ductwork due to a raised access floor, efficient underfloor air distribution and modular electrical and data distribution all hidden from view. Mechanical ventilation air supply will be treated with Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) and MERV 13 filters to improve indoor air quality, and minimize the amount of airborne contaminants, germs, bacteria and viruses entering the building. Biophilic design principles include the exposed wood structure and abundant natural light which have been found to reduce absenteeism, reduce sick days and increase focused productivity.

Exterior amenity space for the ground floor tenants will be provided on the north side of the property and the 6^th floor tenants will have access to a 3600 sf deck overlooking the neighborhood to the south. In addition to the exterior amenity space, the intersection at the corner of Clarke and Wicksteed will be reconfigured creating a new parkette adjacent to the café located at the west end of the ground floor. New streetscaping, benches and street trees will animate the section of Wicksteed Ave. along the south frontage.

The Leaside Innovation Centre is located within a 5-minute walk of the new Eglinton Crosstown LRT providing excellent public transit access. It is also located within minutes of the Leaside residential area for easy walking and cycling access, supporting the City of Toronto’s active transportation goals. The building will have indoor secure parking for up to 30 bicycles and additional short-term parking around the perimeter. As well, there are two levels of underground parking with 20% of parking devoted to electric vehicle parking spaces. The P2 level will have heightened security as access will be controlled by a secure vehicle elevator.