Dawes Road Library

In response to a client brief that called for an authentic embodiment of Indigenous culture and the next level of integrated sustainability, the design team formed as a collaboration between an Indigenous-led architecture practice and a design firm with strong credentials in sustainable design and public buildings. The team led a highly collaborative design process which included The Toronto Public Library (TPL), the City of Toronto’s Social Development, Finance & Administration Division (SDFA) and a broad range of Indigenous and non-Indigenous community stakeholders. The resulting design is inspired by the metaphor of an Indigenous star blanket, which embraces, protects, and celebrates a community of learning and discovery. The adoption of the star blanket as an architectural metaphor is intended to honour the work that will continue within the Dawes Road Library as cultures come together to share knowledge. From an architectural perspective, a blanket is fluid, wrapped around with no square edges or corners, providing continuous areas of colour and texture that convey a sense of motion. Blankets have a personality and spirit. They communicate something about their maker and the nature of the techniques used in their making. Blankets also protect us from the environment, offering a strong analogy to the role of an architectural envelope. Dawes Road is located in Toronto’s east end. Targeting Net Zero Carbon under the CAGBC Net Zero Building standard and meeting the design teams living design framework, Dawes Road Library will prioritize health and wellbeing, accessibility and inclusion, site regeneration, and climate and social responsibility. The design will be fully electrified, with a rooftop photovoltaic array and borehole field below the building for geothermal heating and cooling. The metaphor of the star blanket is supported by the articulation of a high-performance envelope with a low percentage of glazed openings. The Library occupies the ground and second floors, offering space for collections, maker spaces, and performance. The SDFA Community Hub occupies the third floor along with a community kitchen and a ceremonial roundhouse. These spaces all open on to a large roof terrace featuring traditional indigenous plantings, gathering space and a ceremonial fire. The design emerged as a direct result of two principles: a sensitive and studied urban design response to the scale of the neighbourhood and the need for outdoor public space; and a commitment to manifesting the ambitions of the Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, heard through an extensive consultation process. Over a year-long period, TPL and the design team engaged in conversations that shaped the design. These discussions uncovered a wealth of opportunities for programming and helped to define an architecture in which everyone feels welcome.