General Residential & Mixed Use Guidelines

Design intent: To site and design buildings to positively frame and activate streets and public open spaces.

Guidelines

1. Orient primary building facades and entries to the fronting street or open space to create street edge definition and activity (See Figure 1). 
2. On corner sites, orient building facades and entries to both fronting streets.
3. Minimize the distance between the building and the sidewalk to create street definition and a sense of enclosure (See Figure 1).
4. Locate and design windows, balconies, and street-level uses to create active frontages and ‘eyes on the street’, with additional glazing and articulation on primary building facades.
5. Ensure main building entries are clearly visible with direct sight lines from the fronting street.
6. Avoid blank, windowless walls along streets or other public open spaces.
7. Avoid the use of roll down panels and/or window bars on retail and commercial frontages that face streets or other public 
   open spaces.
8. In general, establish a street wall along public street frontages to create a building height to street width ratio of 1:2, with a minimum ratio of 1:3 and a maximum ratio of 1:1.75 (See Figure 2).
   • Wider streets (e.g., transit corridors) can support greater streetwall heights compared to narrower streets (e.g., local streets);
   • The street wall does not include upper storeys that are set back from the primary frontage; and
   • A 1:1 building height to street width ratio is appropriate for a lane or mid-block connection condition provided the street wall height is no greater then 3 storeys.

Figure 1: A sense of enclosure, transparent and active shop fronts, and high quality streetscape design are the key ingredients for great streets (2.1.1 a).

Figure 2: Illustrating different building height to street width ratios  (2.1.1 h).

Design intent: To site buildings to respond sensitively to topography and environmental features; to enhance privacy, liveability, safety and accessibility; and to increase connectivity to the surrounding open space network.

Guidelines

1. Site and design buildings to respond to unique site conditions and opportunities, such as oddly shaped lots, location at prominent intersections, framing of important open spaces, corner lots, sites with buildings that terminate a street end view, and views of natural features.
2. Use Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles to better ensure public safety through the use of appropriate lighting, visible entrances, opportunities for natural surveillance, and clear sight lines for pedestrians.

   Relationship to Grade
    

3. Limit the maximum grades on development sites to 30% (3:1).
4. Design buildings for ‘up-slope’ and ‘down-slope’ conditions relative to the street by using strategies such as:
   • Stepping buildings along the slope, and locating building entrances at each step and away from parking access where possible;
   • Incorporating terracing to create usable open spaces around the building;
   • Using the slope for under-building parking and to screen service and utility areas (See Figure 5);
   • Designing buildings to access key views; and
   • Minimizing large retaining walls (retaining walls higher than 1m should be stepped and landscaped).

     Connectivity

5. Design internal circulation patterns (streets, sidewalks, pathways) to be integrated with and connected to the existing and planned future public street, bicycle and/or pedestrian network (See Figure 6).
6. Incorporate easy-to-maintain traffic calming features, such as on-street parking bays and curb extensions, textured materials, and crosswalks. 
7. Apply universal accessibility principles to primary building entries, sidewalks, plazas, mid-block connections, lanes, and courtyards through the appropriate selection of materials, stairs, and ramps as necessary, and the provision of wayfinding and lighting elements.

Figure 5: Use natural slope for under-building parking wherever possible (2.1.3 a).

Figure 6: Design internal circulation patterns (streets, sidewalks, pathways) to be integrated with and connected to the existing and planned future public street, bicycle and/or pedestrian network (2.1.3 e).

Design intent: To ensure the design of streets and open spaces creates visual interest, comfort, and safety for pedestrians and positively contributes to urban ecology and stormwater management.

Guidelines

Landscape Planning

a. Site buildings to protect mature trees, significant vegetation, and ecological features.

b. Locate underground parkades, infrastructure, and other services to maximize soil volumes for in-ground plantings.

c. Site trees, shrubs, and other landscaping appropriately to maintain sight lines and circulation (See Figure 9).

d. Design attractive, engaging, and functional on-site open spaces with high quality, durable, and contemporary materials, colors, lighting, furniture, and signage.

e. Ensure site planning and design achieves favourable microclimate outcomes through strategies such as:

• Locating outdoor spaces where they will receive ample sunlight throughout the year;
• Using materials and colors that minimize heat absorption;
• Planting both evergreen and deciduous trees to provide a balance of shading in the summer and solar access in the winter; and
• Using building mass, trees, and planting to buffer wind.

Landscape Materials

f. Use landscaping materials that soften development and enhance the public realm (See Figure 10).

g. Plant native and/or drought tolerant trees and plants suitable for the local climate.

h. Select trees for long-term durability, climate and soil suitability, and compatibility with the site’s specific urban conditions.

Stormwater Management and Water Usage

i. Design sites and landscapes to maintain pre-development flows through capture, infiltration, and filtration strategies, such as the use of rain gardens and permeable surfacing (See Figure 11).

j. Design sites to minimize water use for irrigation by using strategies such as: 

• Designing planting areas and tree pits to passively capture rainwater and stormwater run-off; and 
• Using recycled water irrigation systems.

Sustainable Materials and Furniture

k. Create multi-functional landscape elements wherever possible, such as planting areas that also capture and filter stormwater or landscape features that users can interact with.

l. Select materials and furnishings that reduce maintenance requirements and use materials and site furnishings that are sustainably sourced, re-purposed, or 100% recycled.

Lighting and Wayfinding

m. Use exterior lighting to complement the building and landscape design, while (See Figure 12):

• Minimizing light trespass onto adjacent properties;
• Using full cut-off lighting fixtures to minimize light pollution; and
• Maintaining lighting levels necessary for safety and visibility.

n. Employ on-site wayfinding strategies that create attractive and appropriate signage for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists using a ‘family’ of similar elements. 

Figure 9: Site trees and other landscaping to maintain sight lines and circulation (2.1.5 c)

Figure 10: Use landscaping materials that soften development and enhance the public realm (2.1.5 f).

Figure 11: Design sites and landscapes to maintain pre-development flows using strategies such as rain gardens and permeable surfacing (2.1.5 i).

Figure 12: Use full cut-off exterior lighting to complement building and landscape design (2.1.5 m).

Design intent: To design buildings to reduce energy demand and maximize occupant health and comfort, while ensuring visual interest.

Guidelines

Simplified Massing

a. Design buildings with a pure form with simplified massing and fewer complex junctions to minimize building envelope heat loss. 

Articulation

b. Use simple shifts in massing and changes in exterior colors and textures to articulate facades.

c. For larger buildings, target an overall window-to-wall ratio (WWR) of 40% to reduce heat gain and loss through the building envelope by increasing the area of insulated wall (See Figure 14). Additional considerations include:

• WWR ratios should be higher at grade to promote at-grade transparency while accommodating the 40% WWR in the building overall; and
• WWR ratios should be lower on north facing facades than on south facing facades to account for lower solar gain potential.

Site Planning and Orientation

d. Incorporate passive heating, cooling, and lighting design principles in landscape and building design, including:

• Orienting for maximum solar-gain potential from the south to reduce heating demand in colder months;  and
• Using trees to provide natural shading to reduce overheating in warmer months.

e. Use appropriately designed exterior shading devices to block unwanted solar gains in warmer months while welcoming solar gains from lower winter sunlight. Additional considerations include (See Figure 16):

• Their use should be prioritized on southern elevations;
• Shading is not necessary on north-facing facades; and
• Vertical fins are a good strategy to use for blocking incoming summer sun on western elevations.

High Performance Building Envelope

f. Use insulating materials and/or thermally broken building products to reduce building heat loss from thermal bridges such as concrete balconies and beams that run from the building’s interior to exterior.

Figure 14: While retaining at-grade transparency, targeting lower window-to-wall ratios on building elevations can significantly reduce energy demand. As general guidance, designers targeting the Lower Steps of the Step Code should target no more than a 50% WWR and designers targeting the Upper Steps should target a WWR of less than 40% (2.2.1 c).

Figure 15: Example of a building with active frontage and low WWR above.

Figure 16: Exterior shading devices can be integrated into a building’s southern elevation to block unwanted solar gains and keep indoor temperatures comfortable in warmer months (2.2.1 e).