CORUS QUAY OPENS ON TORONTO’S WATERFRONT
Product Spec Sheet

ElementBrandProduct Name
ManufacturersForbo Flooring Systems
CarpetInterface
ManufacturersNedlaw Living Walls
ManufacturersTeknion
ManufacturersEventscape Inc.
ManufacturersSteelcase

Product Spec Sheet
Manufacturers
Carpet
Manufacturers
Manufacturers
by Teknion
Manufacturers
Manufacturers

Diamond and Schmitt Architects leads waterfront renewal

Diamond Schmitt as Architects

Corus Quay is the first new building of Toronto’s waterfront redevelopment. The eight-storey glass-clad building completed in September 2010 is designed with restraint, minimalism and simplicity to showcase the broadcast activities of Corus Entertainment within. Embracing its waterfront context on a remediated brownfield site and adjacent to Sugar Beach and a promenade, Corus Quay has achieved LEED Gold Certification with sustainable features including a four-storey biofilter, green roofs and rainwater recycling.


The building’s scheme is a series of geometries with upper floors set back and a large glazed atrium that drives daylight deep inside. Large doors open onto the lake, furthering the connection with the public space.


The living wall biofilter – an installation of tropical plants adorning office, academic, commercial and civic buildings – is a sustainable design response to create a healthy indoor environment and lower the carbon footprint.


Developed by Dr. Alan Darlington and introduced commercially by Diamond Schmitt Architects at the University of Guelph Humber campus in Toronto, the success of the prototype launched NEDLAW Living Walls with its patented green technology and has generated dozens of collaborations between the two firms in North America.


“We were looking for a way to feature biofiltration research undertaken by the University of Guelph for their Humber academic building a decade ago,” said Donald Schmitt, Principal, Diamond Schmitt Architects.


The research showed indoor air can be cleansed of pollutants such as carbon monoxide, moulds and bacteria and Volatile Organ Compounds (VOCs) through exposure to the beneficial microorganisms on plant roots. Suspended in woven, porous material, the roots of these hydroponically grown plants breakdown these compounds and produce no toxic waste by-product. By connecting a living wall to a building’s HVAC system, the treated air is humidified and over 80 percent of indoor air contaminants are removed.


Darlington’s early research funded by Canadian and European Space agencies to purify the air on proposed extraterrestrial bases led him to Earth-bound applications. “When we installed Guelph Humber, we were confident that the system should work, that ‘in principle’ it would clean the air,” he said. “Ten years on, we now we have a very good library of data demonstrating how well the technology works. If anything, the system has exceeded our initial ideas about its impact on the indoor space.”


The living walls designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects are typically between two to four stories high and integrated into a building plan at the schematic design stage. Their presence informs atrium orientation and skylight design to maximize the amount of natural daylight that reaches the plants. This attractive green feature becomes a focal point for gathering and is testament to the positive impact of plants on human health. Anecdotal evidence of living walls indicates improved productivity, reduced sick days and creating a better sense of wellbeing. “Bringing significant plant life indoors has universal appeal and appears to resonate with people on a primal level, hence the psychological benefit,” said Birgit Siber, Principal at Diamond Schmitt Architects. “But the real beauty is that it works on so many different levels, reducing the energy needed to treat outdoor air, providing fresh oxygen, creating acoustic absorption and white noise from the gravity water flow, and a compelling visual aesthetic not to mention a powerful symbol of green design.”


Since the first living wall, Diamond Schmitt and NEDLAW have explored additional synergies with clients on the use of biofilters. “It’s particularly gratifying to see living walls become part of the curriculum in academic buildings where they are featured,” said Schmitt. Drexel University’s Papadakis Integrated Sciences building in Philadelphia has a new field of research in microbial root communities. The LEED Platinum Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence at Ottawa’s Algonquin College uses its five-storey living wall to enrich the study and practice of green building design.


The first living wall at U. of Guelph Humber is growing strong today. Others are featured at Diamond Schmitt’s Cambridge, Ontario City Hall, Corus Quay office building and Centennial College Library in Toronto, at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Ontario, and at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C. The largest to date is a six-storey biofilter at University of Ottawa’s Vanier Hall. An office building and hotel under construction in Buffalo, New York will also include a four-storey living wall.


Products Behind Projects
Product Spotlight
News
Detail: sliding panels of natural pine protect a residential complex from the Mallorcan sun
29 Mar 2024 Detail
Detail: sliding panels of natural pine protect a residential complex from the Mallorcan sun

Spanish architecture firm OHLAB has recently completed Paseo de Mallorca 15, a residential complex o... More

Snøhetta designs new extension for the world’s oldest ski museum in Oslo
28 Mar 2024 News
Snøhetta designs new extension for the world’s oldest ski museum in Oslo

Global transdisciplinary architecture and design practice Snøhetta has designed a new entranc... More

10 public buildings that demonstrate architectural applications of precast concrete
27 Mar 2024 Specification
10 public buildings that demonstrate architectural applications of precast concrete

Precast concrete is made by casting concrete in a reusable mold. These molds are made of various mat... More

Sameep Padora and Associates creates a flowing, organic art center in southern India
26 Mar 2024 News
Sameep Padora & Associates creates a flowing, organic art center in southern India

Mumbai-based Sameep Padora & Associates (sP+a) has completed Hampi Art Labs in Toranagallu, a vi... More

Introducing Partner Thermory AS
26 Mar 2024 Partner News
Introducing Partner Thermory AS

Thermory AS offers a diverse product range that includes durable exterior cladding, decking, interio... More

Brooklyn Tower by ShOP Architects showcases a unique materiality
25 Mar 2024 News
Brooklyn Tower by ShOP Architects showcases a unique materiality

Brooklyn Tower, standing an impressive ninety-three stories tall with a unique neo-deco crown, is al... More

Doriana Fuksas, Martin Lesjak, Li Xiang and Steven Wright join Archello Awards 2024 jury
25 Mar 2024 Archello Awards
Doriana Fuksas, Martin Lesjak, Li Xiang and Steven Wright join Archello Awards 2024 jury

Doriana Fuksas, Martin Lesjak, Li Xiang and Steven Wright have been announced as Archello Awards 202... More

Vurpas Architectes converts former brick and concrete market into light-filled primary school in Lyon
22 Mar 2024 News
Vurpas Architectes converts former brick and concrete market into light-filled primary school in Lyon

The Eugénie Brazier school project in Lyon, France, undertaken by regional architecture studi... More