Bold and Green In Toronto

It’s still in its planning stages, but a project under development in Toronto promises to be a visually bold and cutting-edge green building.

New York-based Gansevoort Hotel Group has teamed up with one of Canada’s leading custom builders, TAS DesignBuild, to develop Toronto’s first LEED-certified hotel/residence: Gansevoort Toronto Hotel & Residences.

The building’s ultra-modern design will further energize the city’s Richmond Street neighborhood in the entertainment and fashion district. Standout amenities include a heated, outdoor, rooftop pool with underwater lights and music, rooftop bar and lounge with landscaped garden, and spacious event loft with soaring ceilings and commanding panoramic views.

Even more impressive are the sustainable features planned for the hotel/residence including building automation (systems tied to computer monitors to intelligently draw less power); ERV systems (energy recovery ventilators designed to reclaim energy before it is discharged); HRV systems (heat recovery systems). The building’s low-impact design features a unique sequence of units (known as geometric articulation) providing shade and decreasing cooling costs as well as a lighter-colored exterior, which reflects heat and decreases the building’s heat gain, requiring less energy to cool.

Units with individual vertical hanging gardens will mix landscape and building elements, as well as contribute to its iconic design. “Buildings are known to take up green space,” said Mazyar Mortazavi, a principal of TAS DesignBuild. “This building replaces the green space it uses by creating individual gardens and hanging them in a vertical fashion.”

With a planned 2012 opening, it will be fun to watch this project take form in Toronto where the real estate market remains active.