With the Dream LeBreton residential complexes in Ottawa, the architects at Perkins&Will and KPMB offer a fresh take on the tower-and-podium typology. Of the 600 units, 41 per cent will be available at below-market rates, and 31 per cent will be universally accessible. Communal areas will include typical condo amenities — co-working lounges, a fitness centre — as well as civic spaces: shared kitchens, a daycare and a bike-repair workshop. The complex will also be visually striking: The chunky podium tiers will resemble the rugged strata of the nearby Eardley Escarpment, and the ruddy plate-aluminum cladding on the towers will evoke the Laurentian landscape in autumn.
Team: Matt Johnston (Perkins&Will) and Bruno Weber (KPMB) with Peter Busby, Paul Kulig (Perkins&Will) and Bruce Kuwabara (KPMB); Dan McTavish, Andrew Foote, Brandon Lind and Anna Iannucci (Perkins&Will); Giulio Bruno and Mouna Naoui (KPMB); Brian Porter (Two Row Architects)
With this pair of residential complexes in Ottawa, the architects at Perkins&Will and KPMB offer a fresh take on the tower-and-podium typology.