Taddle Creek
Additional Info
Award Winner : NRB Modular Solutions
Architectural Excellence : The Taddle Creek Montessori School can be found in The Annex, a prominent and deeply rooted neighborhood of Toronto since the 1880s; in a historic home on a quiet residential street. So when the School needed to put a classroom addition on their house, they had to be sensitive to the disruption and change in appearance to the neighborhood that might result. NRB and the architect designed a small, 3 story addition to the school that would go into their backyard quickly and smoothly and would blend in with the architecture of the area. The interior is drywall, taped, filled and painted with acoustical ceilings. The exterior is finished with a combination red brick and stucco to blend with the home’s appearance. Large windows were chosen with grilles for a similar appearance to those in the existing house. The addition included a handicap lift and stair tower. Modular was the perfect solution for this addition, not only for time, but specifically to keep the disturbance to a minimum.
Cost Energy Effectiveness : The owner did not pursue LEED certification but they carefully followed the roadmap to sustainability. Part of this included high performance windows, white reflective roofing, superior polyiso rigid building envelope insulation that blanketed the exterior, as well as a lighting package that had up-lighting with occupancy sensors and dimmers in an effort to reduce energy consumption. By far the most significant cost related efficiencies for this project however, is the fact that by installing the addition using the modular project delivery method, they were able to expand the school, take on more students and income rather than be faced with moving and losing students and income. Because there was no landing area for on-site construction materials, it would have been impossible for the school to site build a complete addition without major disruption to the residential neighborhood, students and staff for a long period of time. The community would likely not have permitted it.
Design Firm Name : Project Management Universe Corp. Architects
Occupied Date : 10/31/2008
Production Start Date : 7/22/2008
Project Location City : Toronto
Project Location State Name : ON
Technical Innovation : With zero lot lines between properties, an irregular shaped house with a small backyard, and only a 15’ wide back alley to bring modules in through, each floor had to be designed to split into 6 odd shaped pieces, some extremely small. Built in lifting lugs benefit the process as the crane picked units off the trailers, swinging over neighboring properties, trees and wires to set in place. Choosing steel and concrete construction for non-combustibility and durability, the addition had to carry a one hour rating on all exterior walls due to proximity to properties, including fire shutters on the windows and fire spray between first and second floors. NRB built the entire first 2 floors together in two levels, with the third together alongside, in the plant. This ensures precision fit and finish, even allowing the elevator shaft and stair towers to be preinstalled, and results in the jigsaw-puzzle like layout fitting together again on site without a glitch.
Total Square Feet : 3348
Category : Permanent: Education: under 5,000 sq. ft.