Honourable Mention – Buildings

Sackville Infill Housing
Address: 298 Sackville St., B & C
Architect: Baird Sampson Neuert Architects Inc.
Owner/Developer: James Lorimer

Peter Ellis
We had to search for this one. It is invisible to the street, yet it seems so appropriate to Cabbagetown. As architecture alone, it is only partly successful, yet it is commendable as a solution to infill housing behind an existing row of houses facing the street.

Larry Beasley
I like the way the new infill building sits firmly behind the older house, generating strong walls onto a semi-public courtyard and securing a private garden behind; I like the reference to an existing larger infill project down the street; and I like the gentle but sure touch in the renovation of the old building. I would have liked to have seen better resolution of the new front façade with more glass. Nonetheless, this project really is clearly "of its neighbourhood' and it works "for it's neighbourhood".

David Oleson
This is an excellent example of small-scale infill housing in a stable residential neighbourhood. The quality of the landscaped space between the original house and new infill units is very important for this type of development, and in this case would gain from better definition. We also visited the infill renovation project next door, immediately to the north, which was completed several years ago, and admired the comfortable integration of what had probably previously been a non-conforming condition. Cabbagetown appears to be fertile ground for innovative small-scale residential developments.

Donna Hinde
This type of infill housing must be recognized, celebrated and embraced in Toronto. The initiative to increase density in very established downtown neighbourhoods with units of a contemporary design is sadly lacking in this city. Toronto designers have been talking about this housing model for decades; why is this type of project so hard to achieve?