Six townhouses situated toward the western terminus of the variable and changing Harbord Street present an unapologetically bold vision of the present and future of residential design in the City of Toronto.

Harbord Towns’ reinvention of the townhouse form was born of an inquiry into what townhouse units were, and what they could be. What if, instead of striving to replicate fully detached homes in a dissatisfying constricted context, or dismembering elements of the home and reassembling them as puzzle pieces in a larger unit, we focused instead on producing optimal living spaces and did not worry about conforming to conventional expectations?

Harbord Towns is a project that was developed in response to its context but also as a means of shaping the future of its context. We believe Harbord Towns is in the vanguard of Toronto’s evolving residential design.

To reduce construction time and construction waste the townhouses were designed as prefabricated, panelized wood structures. This process allowed framing to be erected in a few weeks.

Slated to be developer Oben Flats’ first completed project in Toronto, all parties understood that Harbord Flats would establish the company’s brand. Synergy between developer and architect led to a commercially successful and efficient project – Harbord Towns was built in nine months, meeting and in many cases exceeding the client’s lofty expectations.

Creativity – from a reinterpretation of the townhouse form to the means by which it could be produced on an uncommonly sized site – is the prime legacy of the Harbord Towns. As the City of Toronto begins to encourage residential construction on its avenues, Harbord Towns has aimed to demonstrate how rethinking the expectations of a dwelling that is neither house nor apartment is necessary to producing the best living spaces within.

Check out our BLOAAg article for more information.

 

 

Publish Date : 2021/Sep/01