RBC WaterPark Place
- Client:
- Oxford Properties Group
- Size:
- 120,000 m2 | 1,300,000 ft2
- Completion:
- 2014
- Sustainability:
- LEED Platinum
- Scope of Service:
- Full Architectural Services
Awards:
International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC), Gold Award, 2015
North American Revit Technology Conference, Integration Category, 2013
International Properties Award, Best Office Development, 2012
NAIOP REX Awards, Office Lease of the Year, 2012
Located on the Toronto waterfront near the financial district, Waterpark Place is a 30-storey office tower, and the final phase of Oxford’s commercial development at Bay Street and Queens Quay Boulevard. WZMH designed the building’s seven-storey podium along Queens Quay to respond to adjacent street conditions and provide a strong horizontal counterpoint to the tower’s offset vertical volumes. The north-south orientation of the building maximizes views of the water and maintains a view corridor south from the Royal York Hotel, respecting the city’s urban design guidelines. Home to offices for a major bank, the tower improves the diversity of this primarily residential area and provides a connection to the downtown PATH system with an above-grade link through the Air Canada Centre.
At the heart of the development is a 2nd-level food court connected directly to the PATH and to the podiums of all three towers. Flooded with daylight from three skylights, the 700-seat food court features a choice of environments ranging from lounge and banquette to café type seating both inside and on a terrace.
LEED Platinum Certified, the project includes façades with vertical fritted glass fins on the east and west and horizontal fritted glass fins on the south designed to manage sunlight penetration throughout the seasons. Championing supportive workplace strategies, WZMH designed the office floors to allow for densification, while giving users access to light and views, as well as individual control of lighting.