Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1511965
D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3 | 59 Ontario Court of Justice – Toronto P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y I N F R A S T RU C T U R E O N TA R I O ONTARIO COURT OF JUSTICE – TORONTO by ROBIN BRUNET T he development of government facilities is always complex and lengthy, especially when the task is to consolidate services. As was the case with Ontario's new largest courthouse, the LEED Silver Ontario Court of Justice – Toronto. It stands at 17 storeys and houses 63 courtrooms, 10 conference settlement rooms, five intake courts, and various associated support facilities. Infrastructure Ontario (IO) and the Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG) first issued a request for quali- fications for a consortium to design, build, finance, and maintain a new courthouse in 2016. MAG focused on amalgamating court locations in order to better serve people in Toronto, bringing together most of the city's Ontario Court of Justice criminal court operations and services. Ian McConachie, media commu- nications manager for Infrastructure Ontario, says of the architectural team: "We had partnered with NORR on various infrastructure projects, but this is the first Renzo Piano Building Workshop [RPBW] project in Canada [the firm is based out of Genoa, Italy, and Paris, France] and we were pleased to work with them." In addition, Kleinfeldt Mychajlowycz Architects (KMA) and Montgomery Sisam Architects (MSA) formed the planning, design, and compliance team for the new court- house. KMA /MSA prepared project documents, including output spec- ifications that formed guidelines and performance requirements that the building team needed to meet when preparing the project's design. "Design milestones throughout the project enabled the team to review and provide input into the design as it evolved," McConachie says. Also, "The team consulted with justice partici- pants and the community to consider their needs." According to NORR, the design concept was "defined by a desire to reimagine the institutional building and the courthouse in particular as an integral civic component within the city that is accessible, dignified, and independent. The project is intention- ally compact, staying well below the maximum allowable height, main- taining a respectful relationship to Osgoode Hall, a national historic site, and Toronto City Hall, while having a presence of its own." LOCATION 10 Armoury Street, Toronto, Ontario OWNER /DEVELOPER Ministry of the Attorney General PROCUREMENT & PROJECT MANAGEMENT Infrastructure Ontario ARCHITECTS Renzo Piano Building Workshop / NORR DBFM CONTR ACTOR EllisDon Design Build STRUCTUR AL CONSULTANT Stephenson Engineering MECHANICAL CONSULTANT The HIDI Group ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT Mulvey & Banani HERITAGE CONSULTANT +VG Architects INDIGENOUS CONSULTANT Two Row Architect TOTAL SIZE 780,000 square feet TOTAL COST $956.4 million