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Housing

11 Brock Avenue

Toronto is in the midst of a housing crisis, and urgently needs to deliver new supportive and affordable housing for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. This four-storey mass timber building demonstrates how rapid delivery and design excellence can work together, using innovative construction methods while creating a warm, secure home that fosters community and belonging.
project Type
Housing
location
Toronto, Ontario
client
City of Toronto
dates
2024 - present
expertise
Urban Design, Planning, Architecture, Landscape Architecture
land Information
awards

Canadian Architect, Award of Excellence, 2024

Modern four-story apartment building featuring terracotta-colored exterior panels with a distinctive blue entrance alcove and street-level public space.
Housing

11 Brock Avenue

Modern four-story apartment building featuring terracotta-colored exterior panels with a distinctive blue entrance alcove and street-level public space.
project Type
Housing
location
Toronto, Ontario
client
City of Toronto
land Information
dates
2024 - present
expertise
Urban Design, Planning, Architecture, Landscape Architecture
awards

Canadian Architect, Award of Excellence, 2024

Toronto is in the midst of a housing crisis, and urgently needs to deliver new supportive and affordable housing for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. This four-storey mass timber building demonstrates how rapid delivery and design excellence can work together, using innovative construction methods while creating a warm, secure home that fosters community and belonging.

11 Brock Avenue emerged from Toronto's partnership with the Federal Rapid Housing Initiative, and required rapid delivery from conception to occupancy in just 18 months. Rather than compromise on design quality, SvN embraced this condensed timeline as an opportunity for innovation. What resulted is a net-zero, all-electric building that demonstrates supportive housing can be both dignified and sustainable, while addressing the community’s eagerness for the vacant site to be activated with meaningful development.

Architectural cross-section of a four-storey building showing mixed-use building design with a central courtyard surrounded by residential units, communal spaces, rooftop gardens, and bicycle storage.

The design of 11 Brock was centered on what matters most—the people who will call it home. The building wraps around a south-facing courtyard, welcoming natural light deep into corridors and providing a protected outdoor sanctuary for residents, many of whom are transitioning from precarious housing situations. This tiered landscape becomes the heart of the building, offering a place to relax, gather, and engage in those small daily interactions that help to foster community. Ground-floor spaces integrate support services seamlessly, from staff offices to a laundry area reimagined as social space, all with views to the courtyard that provide natural security.

Diagram showing the massing strategy for 11 Brock Avenue. 1) Create a south facing courtyard to bring light into the core of the building. 2) Program the ground floor for communal and support spaces. 3) Stack residential units for efficiency. 4) Incorporate terraces on each level to create a multi-tiered outdoor amenity. 5) Link indoor and outdoor amenity spaces throughout. 6) Create a distinctive facade that responds to the character of the neighborhood.

Delivering the project quickly without compromising quality meant rethinking the construction approach. We developed the building as a kit of modular components: cross-laminated timber structure, prefabricated envelope panels with windows pre-installed, and repeating unit layouts that maximize both efficiency and accessibility. This approach delivered even more than the required 40 units while ensuring over 30% meet accessibility standards. A regular grid layout and stacked suites simplified construction while providing dignified homes. No units face one another, helping to maintain privacy for residents as they focus on growth and rebuilding.

Architectural rendering of a modern four-story apartment building with a terracotta-colored facade, and street-level public seating areas.

The building's all-electric systems and mass timber construction significantly reduce embodied carbon while preparing for future photovoltaic installations. Triple-glazed windows, high-performance envelope design, and strategic solar orientation minimize energy consumption. An extensive green roof and native landscape plantings support biodiversity while managing stormwater which turns environmental responsibility into community amenity. The brick-toned fiber cement cladding and thoughtfully landscaped frontages respect the neighbourhood’s Victorian character while advancing an aspirational vision for supportive housing.