Sheppard Medical Centre is a place of care, serving both its immediate community as well as individuals seeking specialized treatments. Designed according to “Barrier Free” and “Human Centric” principles, the architecture reflects the ambitions of the clients, creating a salutogenic, holistic centre for wellness.
C& Partners Architects, in collaboration with Mehdi Marzyari Architects, have designed a two-storey, 10,000 SF medical building on Sheppard Avenue East in North York, Toronto. Providing a host of services, this new medical building aims to contribute, with a positive impact, to the well-being of communities and individuals.
The building mass is split into two programmatic boxes: retail and clinical. The ground floor offers retail opportunities and the upper floor accommodates a dermatology and laser clinic, and medical offices.
The architecture expresses the program. The upper mass is shifted to the south and to the west. The south-shift creates a one-storey retail podium along the main street, allowing the building to appropriately fit within the neighbouring residential bungalow context. The west-shift frames the entrance to the rear parking and integrates the driveway into the building while creating an outdoor terrace for the Level 2 where the clinic resides. And, moreover, the terrace offers the implementation of a “green roof” that wraps around the building.
The building frontage—which includes planters, bike racks and seating—promotes an enhanced streetscape and public realm, further integrating the building into the overall urban fabric. The super-scaled glazed walls extend the streetscape frontage into the retail units and lobby which promotes activity and connectivity. The recessed and angled entrance with a canopy above invites pedestrians into the building.
The building is carefully accented with certain elements and materials, extending the exterior environment into to the interior spaces. Exterior limestone cladding continues to the interior walls of the lobby, and dark paving tiles cover the path and carry the visitors forward into the building. The varied spacing of the façade tile cladding is also continued through to the medical clinic reception and waiting area, giving a unified language to the overall building design. With the double height lobby space—visibility from the ground floor entrance lobby—the second level continues the design elements, unifying the two floors in a cohesive architectural language. With primarily limestone cladding and windows expressed in vertical manner, the upper mass provides necessary privacy aligned with the clinical program.
Sustainable design considerations contribute to the building’s longevity. Long-lasting, durable and timeless finishes were used for both the exterior and interior, improving over time and reducing maintenance costs. Energy efficient glazing, and state-of-the-art mechanical and electrical systems are being used for both sustainability and cost-savings. These design strategies include:
- Proper insulation for the plumbing and the mechanical system at the cantilever portion of the building to prevent freezing of the pipes between the masses;
- Future-proof mechanical and electrical systems and providing rough-ins for the needs of future retail tenants;
- Rigorous coordination with sub consultant team. This coordination allowed for the integration of structural system into the design of the interior;
- Connecting the screen surrounding the mechanical equipment on the rooftop with the rest of the building’s mass in an unobtrusive, cohesive design; and,
- A heated driveway system is used under the parking lot to reduce the need to clear snow, and reduce maintenance and allow patients with mobility issues to walk safely to the building in cold weather conditions.
