It may not reach the heights of Willy Wonka’s everything-is-edible room, but The Plant, a new mixed-use community planned for Toronto’s West Queen West neighborhood, puts an emphasis on surrounding residents with food.
It is this focus on food that differentiates The Plant from other mixed-use projects. “It might seem extreme, but we orientated this entire project around our connection to food,” says Gary Eisen, Partner at Curated Properties, in a release.
The majority of the building’s amenities are food centric, such as an internal greenhouse to cultivate seeds and act as a nursery for starting up plants and an industrial style kitchen designed to host seasonal preparations of food and host social events.
Each unit comes with custom micro-garden beds for fresh herbs built into sidecars in the kitchen. The units also all come with balconies or terraces with space for plants, furniture, and a barbeque. Angular construction enables sunlight to flow into the suites to aid in growing plants indoors.
Rendering courtesy of Curated Properties.
“The balconies and terraces at The Plant are really more like an 8-story porch,” says Jonathan Westeinde, CEO of Windmill Developments, in a release. “They have their own structure, with railings and lattices, as well as a thermal break. So not only are they large and spacious, but they’re orientated to work with the sun and encourage plant life to take hold.”
In addition to the residential aspect, the mixed-use community will offer ground floor retail and office space on the second floor. It is the hopes of the developers that the business and tenants that rent out these spaces will share the same ideals of sustainability and social responsibility.
Curated Properties and Windmill Developments have teamed up on the 10-story building that will offer units ranging from one-bedroom suites to four-bedroom townhomes. The main goal of The Plant is to work towards a self-sustaining, self-reliant residence and be a beacon for “agri-tecture.”
A total of 77 units will be included in the project with prices starting at $500,000.
Rendering courtesy of Curated Properties.
Rendering courtesy of Curated Properties.
Rendering courtesy of Curated Properties.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Structure Tone, Turner among the nation's busiest reconstruction contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 75 Reconstruction Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Portland Cement Association offers blast resistant design guide for reinforced concrete structures
Developed for designers and engineers, "Blast Resistant Design Guide for Reinforced Concrete Structures" provides a practical treatment of the design of cast-in-place reinforced concrete structures to resist the effects of blast loads. It explains the principles of blast-resistant design, and how to determine the kind and degree of resistance a structure needs as well as how to specify the required materials and details.
| Aug 11, 2010
New website highlights government tax incentives for large commercial buildings
Energy Retrofit Group (ERG), the subsidiary of 40-year-old, award-winning Adache Group Architects, Inc., has announced the creation of their new energy conservation web site: www.energy-rg.com.
| Aug 11, 2010
Gensler, HOK, HDR among the nation's leading reconstruction design firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 100 Reconstruction Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
The Joule Hotel
Dallas, Texas
The Joule Hotel in Dallas, designed by local firm Coburn & Smith, was constructed in 1927 as the Dallas National Bank Building. Originally one of the finest examples of gothic revival architecture in Texas, it had had most of its gothic elements removed over the years after being converted into an office building and later abandoned. What was left had fallen into disrepair.
| Aug 11, 2010
AECOM, WATG top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 75 largest hotel design firms
A ranking of the Top 75 Hotel Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
ASHRAE introduces building energy label prototype
Most of us know the fuel efficiency of our cars, but what about our buildings? ASHRAE is working to change that, moving one step closer today to introducing its building energy labeling program with release of a prototype label at its 2009 Annual Conference in Louisville, Ky.
| Aug 11, 2010
Urban Land Institute honors five 'outstanding' developments in Europe, Middle East, and Africa
Five outstanding developments have been selected as winners of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) 2009 Awards for Excellence: Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) competition. This year, the competition also included the announcement of two special award winners. The Awards for Excellence competition is widely regarded as the land use industry’s most prestigious recognition program.
| Aug 11, 2010
Cannon Design’s European-inspired Sparkling Hill Resort breaks ground
Cannon Design, a leading international architectural, engineering and planning firm, is pleased to announce that the firm’s Sparkling Hill Resort and Wellness Hotel in Vernon, BC, has broken ground.
