TORONTO, ON
Distillery District - Various Buildings
The Distillery District is one of Toronto's most celebrated cultural landmarks, comprising more than 40 heritage buildings and 10 streets that once formed the Gooderham & Worts Distillery.
The site is a vibrant pedestrian-oriented community featuring galleries, boutiques, restaurants, theatres, and event spaces, all set within a carefully preserved collection of Victorian industrial architecture.
Entuitive provided code consulting services for various historic buildings on the site to support renovations and tenants fit outs.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
CLIENT
The Distillery Historic District
ARCHITECT
ERA; BDP; Quadrangle
OUR ROLE(S)
Fire Engineering Consultant; Building Code Consultant
SIZE
Various Buildings
BUDGET
-
MARKET (OFFICE)
ONTARIO
Challenge One
Carrying out extensive renovations or changing the occupancy of tenant spaces can trigger additional upgrades as per Part 11 of the Ontario Building Code.
Solution One
Collaborating with the design team and project stakeholders, Entuitive building code consultants outlined the specific Part 11 requirements that a range of renovation options may trigger and helped inform decision making as it related to the upgrading of tenant spaces. Creative solutions involved navigating compliance alternatives, development of alternative solutions, and considering a whole-site context to show code intents for barrier-free access and universal washrooms were satisfied.
Challenge Two
Optimizing structural fire protection.
Solution Two
Another implication of changing occupancies or adding occupancy to a rooftop deck can be increased fire-resistance ratings and fire separation requirements. The first step is carefully navigating the renovation provisions of the code to determine if compliance alternatives apply or if any credit is given for sprinklering of the existing building. A refined approach is to then assess the actual fire-resistance rating the archaic materials provide and determine efficient means of increasing this protection where required, reusing existing materials where possible for a more sustainable and cost-effective solution.
