Spring Stories: Timber, Teamwork, and Tiny Buildings
As the city blooms around us, we’re reflecting on what it means to build with care — from exploring the possibilities of mass and hybrid timber, to designing a miniature pavilion with students in High Park, to reconnecting with each other over a curling stone. Scroll on for new project updates, thoughtful experiments, and small moments that are adding up to something bigger. |
|
Project Update
Making Home at 97 Victoria St N: |
|
| A new kind of gathering space, built with purpose and care. |
|
“Today’s generation of affordable housing doesn’t seek to hide in plain view, but rather opts for design approaches driven by close attention to the needs of residents, safe durable materials, sustainability and the use of human-scale urban design to better connect such projects to their surrounding communities”
– John Lorinc, The Globe and Mail, April 17, 2025
|
|
|
|
Making Home at 97 Victoria St N, in downtown Kitchener continues to take shape — and with it, a renewed vision of housing, health, and dignity under one roof. In a recent Globe and Mail article, John Lorinc took a deeper look at the values driving this project and how a hybrid mass timber structure is helping meet the demands of both sustainability and community care.
|
|
Insight
Why Hybrid Timber Makes Sense
When full mass timber isn’t the answer, what is? |
|
| Mass timber is on everyone’s radar — but a hybrid approach can be the smarter, more adaptable choice, especially for urban sites with programmatic complexity or tight budgets. In a new Case Study, we’re breaking down the thinking behind our solution at Making Home at 97 Victoria St N, and why hybrid systems may play a key role in the future of civic architecture. |
|
| This project is more than the sum of its parts. It brings together infill development, adaptive reuse, and mass timber construction to address multiple priorities for municipalities and city builders. A new case study takes a deeper dive into the strategies the team used to realize this project.
⬇️ Download the Case Study |
|
Project Update
Calgary’s North Radio Park
From broadcast towers to a bold new urban presence. |
|
|
Our community plan, for North Radio Park, part of Calgary’s West District, draws on the site’s layered history to shape a vibrant new future. Completed in association with Metafor, Scatliff + Miller + Murray, and Civic Works, for Truman Homes, the district once housed a historic broadcast tower. Today, the site is being transformed into a contemporary mixed-use community designed for connection and livability. With site plan approvals underway, we’re excited to share an early look at what’s to come.
|
|
Student Collaboration
Tiny Pavilion, Big Ideas
High Park Bonsai Pavilion with U of T students |
|
|
How can small structures prompt big thinking? A team of first-year architecture and engineering students from the University of Toronto tackled this question through the design of a floating bonsai pavilion in High Park. Guided by BNKC Principal Vaughn Miller, who served as the project’s external advisor, the students explored themes of nature, stewardship, and light-touch design.
👉 Read more and download the presentation on our blog
|
|
Images courtesy of students – U of T, ARC112: Design + Engineering I
Ariel Jia (Civil Engineering)
Helen Li (Electrical Engineering)
Eleonore Mahieu (Architectural Studies)
Sophia Masley (Architectural Studies)
Erica Xu (Architectural Studies)
Alex Zwolinski (Civil Engineering)
|
|
|
Project Update
Progress x 3 |
|
|
Updates from our ongoing work with SUD Group
Our collaboration with SUD Group continues to advance three distinct mid-rise developments across Toronto, each shaped by community feedback, urban complexity, and a shared commitment to high-quality housing.
|
|
|
1291 Gerrard Street East
At Gerrard and Greenwood, we’ve just submitted our first SPA re-submission since taking on the project. This 11-storey mixed-use building will include 289 units — with 29 rental replacement units fully integrated and sharing access to all amenities. Retail and live/work units activate the ground floor, while a carefully modulated façade and geothermal system contribute to both street presence and sustainability.
|
|
|
1212 Kingston Road
At Kingston and Fallingbrook, we recently participated in a community meeting as we prepare a ZBA re-submission. Revisions will include a potential reduction in height and increased landscaping. The current design features 216 units, 10 rental replacement units, and ground-floor retail — maintaining the existing commercial character while adding density near the lake.
|
|
|
26 Laing Street
Bordering a changing industrial district near Eastern Avenue, this 14-storey project continues to evolve through community consultation. Following recent feedback, we’re refining the building’s massing and circulation, increasing setbacks, and expanding landscaping. Live/work units and retail animate the ground floor, and the building’s minimal material palette is paired with a high-performance envelope and geothermal energy strategy.
👉 Interested in purpose built rental or mid-rise development? Let’s talk!
|
|
|
People
Curling + Connection |
|
|
Our team took to the ice — and took home some style points.
It wouldn’t be a BNKC newsletter without a little studio culture. This spring, we traded our pens and mouses for brooms and sliders in a friendly (and slightly competitive) curling match.
|
|
|
Project Update
Final Push at Clockwork |
|
|
Clockwork is almost complete. Building One is now occupied, and Building Two will be ready for residents this spring. Designed as part of a walkable, mixed-use community, this new condo development brings thoughtfully planned homes, ground-level retail, and shared amenities that foster connection — all in the heart of Oakville’s growing Uptown Core.
👉 Final occupancy and photos coming this summer! |
|
| And there you have it, folks – a peek into the ongoing adventures at BNKC.
We’d love to hear from you! If you have any feedback, questions, or comments about our newsletter or our projects, please feel free to reach out to us at info@bnkc.ca or follow us on Instagram @bnkcarchitects.
We appreciate your support and interest in our work. Thank you for being part of the BNKC community! 🙌 |
|
|
|
|
