Design advisers critique architect’s vision for Fifth Avenue Court site
Minto’s concept for an eight-storey building in the Glebe could do a better job of knitting together the historic retail structure on Bank Street with the contemporary residential complex, the project’s architect heard this week.
The developer’s plan for 99 Fifth Ave. would replace the current Fifth Avenue Court structure with a 124-unit modern-looking building. The design firm is Torontobased TACT Architecture, which also designed a Minto mixed-use development in New Edinburgh.
The city’s independent urban design review panel scrutinized the concept on Thursday, with many of the six members suggesting a better integration between the old Bank Street building and the new development.
The building along Bank Street dates back to the late 1890s and early 1900s but it isn’t protected by heritage designation. The two-storey Fifth Avenue Court with an interior courtyard was constructed behind the Bank Street buildings in 1980 and it would be removed if council approves Minto’s development application.
Panel member David Leinster suggested a “quieter expression” for the new building after hearing fellow board members criticize the balconies, mechanical penthouse design and the stark contrast between the old and the new.
It came as a surprise to TACT head architect Prishram Jain, who thought he crafted a “polite, contextual low-key building” that struck the right balance between subtleness and modernity.
Other panel members like John Stewart thought the architect was missing an opportunity to carry elements the from Bank Street building, such as the red brick, into the lower section of the new building.
It’s one of the challenges that often comes up in developments in a historic neighbourhood — making sure the new building is a representation of today’s architecture without sticking out too much.
There was also discussion about the mechanical penthouse — the top of the building used for mechanical and electrical equipment — proposed for the south edge of the building. Panel members were skeptical of its prominence, but Jain said he likes mechanical penthouses as a design element.
Stewart said mechanical penthouses are “like the toad sitting up on top of a building,” but Jain believes they’re a “good way to articulate the top of the building.”
While critical of the concept, the panel also praised the architects for respecting the heritage context and using an elegant palette of materials. jwilling@postmedia.com