On Thursday, September 2, Kirkor Partner Brent Whitby was interviewed by the Toronto Film Festival Group on his role in the TIFF Bell Lightbox and Festival tower.

Working with TIFF and King John Festival Corportation, Kirkor Senior Partner Steven Kirshenblatt, Associate Partner Richard Golab and Brent took on this incredibly complex project. As Architects of Record on both buildings for the Toronto International Film Festival Group, we played an essential role in their construction and successful completion.

We coordinated development and construction approvals, the execution of the construction and managed the final occupancy inspections. As well as programming the location of the Festival Tower and tower interface with Bell Lightbox, we programmed (together with KJFC) all residential amenity areas and lobbies and the Level 6 event space. We were responsible for the architectural construction details and drawings for the entire building skin.

In the interview, Brent spoke about the importance of creating a balance between TIFF Bell Lightbox and the Festival Tower to ensure cohesiveness of the two forms, how the TIFF project compares to Kirkor’s other large-scale projects and the dramatic impact that the TIFF Bell Lightbox project is having on the city of Toronto. As festival director Piers Handling says, “Festival Tower will play an integral part in this community.”

Carbon Zero building, which means constructing buildings that have zero net energy consumption and zero carbon emissions each year, is an increasingly vital aspect to development.

Markham Block 6

In 2002, the architect Edward Mazria established Architecture 2030, an organization whose goal is to “rapidly transform the US and global Building Sector from the major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions to a central part of the solution.”

Markham Block 6

The American Institute of Architects supports this goal as does Kirkor, and we’re aiming for that same kind of standard here. The bigger the project, the more opportunities there are for sustainability. It may sound misguided, but by building district energy plants and harnessing solar power within these large developments, much of the energy that the project needs can be generated from within.

Majestic Court in Unionville

One example is our project Majestic Court, in Unionville, where we used a Markham ECO-logo certified energy plant. This is a clear example of how responsible stewardship of resources can guide a project. We are also incorporating a district energy plant in Markham Uptown’s first residential phase, block 6. Markham Uptown is an enormous project located just outside Toronto in the Town of Markham. It’s a master plan for an entire community built over 55 acres of land, 20 acres of which will be public parks, and it will be rated as LEED silver or gold.

Majestic Court in Unionville

The vision includes a district energy plant, which produces and pipes hot and cool water to the buildings on site, thereby efficiently heating and cooling the buildings.

Read more about district energy at the International District Energy Association’s website.