SBA was the prime consultant for the implementation of the 74 acre Keele Campus’s Master Plan. The team consisted of civil, electrical, mechanical, storm water, traffic, hydro and communication engineers, urban designers and a landscape architect. SBA acted as the liaison between this consultant team and the Humber River Hospital, ORC, client ministries and officials representing City of Toronto urban design, traffic, forestry, engineering, and building departments, as well as service providers such as TTC, Toronto Hydro, Enbridge Gas, and three telecommunication companies. The management of the communication and implementation plans was a key part of the SBA’s role.
The campus had a detailed Master Plan and Urban Design Guidelines which informed the Official Plan and Zoning By-laws but as always, it is with the implementation phase that the physical details of the words committed is first realized. The resulting streetscape included low curbed centre medians planted in native grasses that could be maintained through a trucked-in irrigation system. The boulevards had simple, easy to maintain grasses along the street frontages but expanded into larger areas of rich paving textures materials and street furniture at the intersections with the main intersections evoking a European pedestrian feel.
The bicycle/pedestrian path wove its way through a linear green space which culminated in the expanded and rejuvenated park. The bicycle path and park were lit with low energy non light polluting LED fixtures. The park design incorporated separate toddler and children play areas, arbor protected picnic plan, and meditative sitting areas for the hospital users. The storm water pond is populated with water plants and features a viewing platform. Its service route is designed to double as a running track.
The parking lots were a key part of the storm water management plan as they acted as retention areas for 10 year storms. In order to achieve this, storm septor tanks, boiswales, permeable pavement and landscaped areas received the utmost attention to detail.
