Western North York Community Centre

On track to be one of Canada’s first ‘Aquatic-Based Net-Zero Energy Building’, the new Western North York Community Center is co-designed with community residents; City of Toronto Parks, Forestry & Recreation Department; Children’s Services; and a diverse consultant team. The Western North York Community Center (WNYCC) will provide this diverse and expanding community currently lacking a public social gathering space, with new social and wellness infrastructure, including aquatic, fitness, recreation, childcare, and community programming. It is designed to maximize spaces for inclusivity, versatility, and animation, as a community-focused and welcoming hub. The 1.9-hectare lot is bordered by the high school and its parking lot, as well as, residential backyards to the north and west. The site is long and thin, with a narrow address off Starview Lane along its southern boundary. To establish strong neighborhood connections, the building’s massing has been configured to the west of the site. The building edge and public promenade reinforce connections across a previously divided neighborhood, delivering a site that is safe, accessible, and encourages pedestrian access. The goals of zero greenhouse gas emissions and net-zero energy status on a site with limited space for photovoltaic panels meant that almost every measure would have to be investigated to lower TEDI and GHGI enough to minimize the scale of on-site energy generation. Highlights of the integrated strategies include: high-performance building envelope; user-controlled operable glazing to provide natural ventilation; regenerative media filters, wastewater heat recovery, and automatic pool covers to minimize aquatic hall loads; interior environments that prioritize occupant comfort over air temperature; exterior shading devices for glare and heat gain control; mechanical systems optimized for low energy, open-loop geo-exchange; and site and building integrated photovoltaic system to achieve net-zero energy use. Early site investigations revealed that a buried river valley and aquifer run under the site with heat exchange capacity to handle the building’s peak heating and cooling loads, lessening EUI by 47%. This reduced the scale of the photovoltaic system required to achieve site-sourced, net-zero energy, allowing the seamless and strategic integration.