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To connect the rowing program and the waterfront site, the design process began with an immersion into the experience of rowing through studies of boats in motion, the buoyancy of rowing hulls, and the wave forms created by oars on water. The aggregation of the buildings massing into three longitudinal volumes and the concave forms of the roof is an outcome of design iterations looking at the programmatic requirements of boat storage and logistics, material systems, and massing grounded in the aesthetics of the sport.
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To create its first significant facility for its rowing program, Upper Canada College partnered with Ports Toronto to build the Lindsay Boathouse in Toronto’s Outer Harbor. Sited on an artificial peninsula in Lake Ontario, the project is also part of Ports Toronto’s master plan to improve public access to the neighboring nature preserve. Completed in 2023, the new Upper Canada College Rowing Facility was designed around dramatic views of the Toronto skyline and surrounding pastoral lakefront. The building’s openness connects the rowers directly to this dynamic surrounding landscape.
Sustainable and environmentally conscious design elements were critical as the site is located on a peninsula in a protected bay within a sensitive natural lake context. The building minimizes any energy use, it uses no heating or cooling systems and is naturally daylit and operated seasonally. Key features include a low carbon Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) structure assembled on site, expansive bird safe glazing for daylighting, passive natural ventilation, minimal energy and water use, green roofs for heat absorption and stormwater management, and native species landscaping.
Constructed on Toronto’s public waterfront, Upper Canada College’s new facility supports a public-facing mission for the highly regarded 160+ year K-12 Rowing Program. The building's structure resonates with its program–CLT wood and the hybrid timber steel frame–creating naturally lit vaulted interior spaces composed of wood panels and integrated thin steel framing analogous to technologies often found in boat construction. The 9,400 square foot (US $5.25M) project integrates the school’s need for functional program elements such as boat storage bays, crew docks, a launch area, locker rooms, restrooms, and a flexible rowing training room that can be transformed into public-oriented community spaces to support a range of events from fundraising to exhibitions. The entire site and facility are universally accessible for all users.
"We are very pleased with the building” and for “the work your team has done”. UCC appreciates "the commitment you have demonstrated to ensuring the project's success, and it was a great success.” Stephen Thuringer, UCC Capital Projects
VJAA is a collaborative design studio with a commitment to design excellence and producing architecture that engages social, cultural, and environmental issues in a knowing and creative way. Our research based process reconsiders the fundamentals of building design, program, site, materials, and structure, our practice is committed to design excellence and innovative thinking on every project regardless of budget, scope, or complexity. Sustainability and material craft are woven through the culture of the office and are central to its values. VJAA is the recipient of the 2012 American Institute of Architects Firm Award. VJAA has received twenty-three national design awards, including six National American Institute of Architects Honor Awards, six Progressive Architecture Awards, and two American Institute of Architects/Committee on the Environment Top Ten Green Building Awards. In 2010, Architect magazine ranked VJAA first in the United States for design recognition and sixth overall.
