AXIA Design

Jarvis Wellesley Community Hub
Toronto, (ON) Canada
2022

Toronto, (ON) Canada

Project start: 2021

Status: Completed, 2022

Gross floor area: 255m²

Client: Toronto Community Housing

Architect: AXIA Design Associates

Project team: Taymoore Balbaa, Michael Good, Leisdania Reynoso

AXIA was asked to design a new service hub on the ground floor of 460 Jarvis Street, a fully occupied residential building within Toronto Community Housing’s portfolio. During the project, the scope of work expanded to include an adjacent lobby renovation, along with various accessibility upgrades. A dignified, secure, and accessible lobby and service hub for tenants was what the client had in mind and AXIA set about designing.

Floor Plan
1.Building Lobby Vestibule
2. Security Desk & Secure Tenant Entry
3. Mail Pick-up
4. Elevator Vestibule
5. Universal Tenant Washroom
6. Service Hub Waiting Area
7. Service Hub Reception
8. Meeting Room
9. Open Concept Office Space
10. Private Offices
11. Employee Lunch & Shower Rooms

The layout of the new lobby is premised on a more efficient circulation scheme than in the old lobby. Service hub programming is carefully differentiated from the lobby area, while the design uses gentle curvature to create direct lines of sight from the vestibule to the elevator bank. In the middle, a new secure entrance, intercom, and security desk provide a level of enhanced safety. The lobby has been provided with an upgraded universal tenant washroom. As well, corridor and door widths have been increased to meet Toronto Community Housing’s accessibility standards. The mail area has been reoriented to allow easier access for mobility impaired tenants. The lighting and finish scheme throughout enable calm, uniform illumination and contrastive brightness where necessary. A durable material palette — at once dignified and robust to take the wear and tear of daily use — completes this dramatically enhanced facility.