Typological Design in an Urban Context

Project idea

This project was completed for a drawing and representation studio course during the second year of my undergraduate degree (I am now in my third). Each student was tasked to observe an assigned 2km x 2km block in Toronto's "Yellowbelt"--a part of the city that is mostly filled with single-family homes that are protected from change. We began by observing and analyzing urban areas by using methods of typological and morphological analysis. Then we had to explore how these observations may be leveraged to create new massing units to existing single-family homes. It is a typological design proposal for presenting change to a wide area, as the city continues to grow.

My site was located in South Riverdale, with a series of train tracks running through the centre. As a result, I decided to look at how the train tracks affected the homes in its vicinity by considering what activities benefit from noise. I decided to break down the facilities of a recreational/cultural centre into four different programs, including a space for gatherings/events, one for eating, another for resting (i.e small saunas), and one for physical activities. These typologies are meant to eventually expand into people's yards even away from the tracks because noise is guaranteed in the city and making use of any extra space, as the city grows, is vital.

Project description

This project consists of four different interventions, all correlating to how far the house is from the train tracks. The houses furthest from the tracks or with the most number of barriers between (i.e trees) had the interventions that required less outside noise like the program for gatherings/events and resting. While the closer houses had interventions that were suitable with background noise like eating and exercising.

Technical information

Although materials were not taken into account during the creative process of this project, this project would be composed of materials that could be easily erected since these are meant to be quick interventions---modular construction materials like plywood, concrete, or steel.

Documentation

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