Sisters of St Joseph of Toronto Residence

The new home for The Sister of St. John features a 58-bed mother house with a chapel, combining the public and private lives of the chapel as cohesively as the structure bridges the area between the Don Valley ravine and the urban cityscape. In fact, the structure embodies duality: connecting the peaceful quiet of nature with the bustling motion of Toronto. Reflecting the community in which it stands is integral to the buildings’ design as it reinforces the connection of the sisters to the outside world. This combination of inner and outer spaces, inner and outer lives, strikes the perfect note of togetherness and cohesiveness that the ministry echoes in its work.

Purpose

• 58-bed mother house complete with chapel

Slender Features

• 1:65 thickness to span ratio at overhanging slabs stabilized by lateral system
• 1:40 thickness to span ratio at overhanging steel entrance canopy
• Knife-thin chapel mullions

cantilever conditions are expressed as equivalent simple spans

Novel Features

• Lateral system stabilized overhanging slabs
• Weighted hung wire brace detail

Progressive Features

• Quality space for independent living and palliative care

Notable Value

• Deep commitment to the design values;
• Creative conception of high-performance structural systems;
• Provided accurate approximate design solutions in person

Awards

• Governor General’s Medal in Architecture, 2014
• Canadian Consulting Engineer Award of Excellence, 2014

LINKS:
Suulin Architects
Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
Canadian Consulting Engineer

SHOUT OUTS:
David Bowick (Blackwell) – Project Lead, Co-Conceptualization
Pierre Koch (Blackwell) – Co-Project Management
Michael Robbins (Blackwell) – Post Tensioned Transfer Beam, Post Tensioned Slab Areas
Shannon Hilchie (Blackwell) – Entrance Canopy Completion
Kerry Zhang (Blackwell) – Concrete Design, Lateral Model
Eric Chung (Blackwell) – Chapel Model
Belinda Wong (Blackwell) – Concrete Feature Elements
Greg Sawka (Blackwell) – Construction Administration
Grazyna Czarnecka, Dorothy Pawluk (Blackwell) – Drafting

IMAGE CREDITS:
James Dow, Bob Gundu