Examining the architectural design of The Peak at Emerald City
By Lucas on Apr 06, 2017
Now that The Peak, the final 33-storey tower at Emerald City in North York, is launching soon, it’s the talk of the town. Elad Canada has planned and developed an extraordinary master-planned condo community at Sheppard and Don Mills, and a principal of WZMH Architects, Len Abelman, recently commented on the overall project and the new tower.
WZMH Architects was involved from the very beginning. There are six condo buildings that are completed or under construction in Emerald City, and having designed every single one of them has helped WZMH bring them all together as a cohesive community.
“Having the opportunity to master plan the entire site enabled us to maximize the lifestyle potential in this truly mixed-use community,” says Abelman. “Emerald City is home to a variety of residences, retail venues, a large park, community centre, playgrounds and amenity areas. To encourage environmental sustainability, the plan is pedestrian and bicycle friendly, and of course, subway access is close by. Situating most of the parking underground, we left plenty of landscaped space between the residences. We sited and designed all of the buildings carefully to achieve a cohesive, yet visually striking effect.”
The Peak is the first tower in Block C, which is a mirror image of Block B. That means that The Peak is a mirror image of Park Club in Block B. While The Peak is reflecting the general structure of Park Club, the design stands strong on its own.
“It is designed to have its own identity, yet fit in well as part of the Emerald City family of residences,” Abelman explains. “Throughout, we have used similar elements of colour, texture and materiality to create variations on an overall theme. In order to scale the podium to street level, we integrated brick into the buildings’ bases. The Peak’s brick will be red, where in the other blocks, the masonry is a buff or grey colour. What really sets The Peak apart is its composition of vertical and horizontal elements that break up the mass of the building into asymmetrical geometries. At the mechanical penthouse, we took vertical white metal lines and designed them to fold into horizontals.”
WZMH also made significant changes to the interiors, catering to those on the hunt for larger condo units. “We adjust the suite mix in the various buildings to meet the needs of their target markets,” he says. “For The Peak, we enlarged the average size of units and also designed a lot of one-bedroom+flex units among the mix to satisfy demand.”
He continues, “Living areas are predominantly rectilinear, which makes for practical furniture placement. The joy and challenge of being an architect involve finding that balance between function and aesthetics.”
The layout and design of the amenity spaces also take the overall community into consideration. The Peak’s amenities include a chic lobby with concierge services, a pet room, and a party room. The condo will share amenities with a future phase, including an indoor pool, a sauna, a hot tub, a family play lounge, and a landscaped barbecue patio. “The Peak’s eastern face overlooks the park, so we laid out many of these common areas along the eastern edge for beautiful views,” Abelman says.
Learn more about The Peak at Emerald City
The Peak features one-bedroom, one-bedroom+den/flex, two-bedroom, and two-bedroom+den/flex units, ranging from 475 to 928 square feet. There will also be four three-bedroom, two-storey townhomes from 1,636 to 1,699 square feet. Prices start from the $300,000s.
For more information about The Peak, call 416-492-0001, or visit the presentation centre at Sheppard and Don Mills.
