151216 design guidelines - webcast.ottawa.ca

DESIGN GUIDELINESCITY OF OTTAWADECEMBER 17, 2015BASED ON THE ISLES: DOMTAR LANDS REDEVELOPMENT MASTER PLANDATED APRIL 22, 2014 AND PREPARED BY PERKINS+WILL

Prepared by FOTENN Consultants Inc. 223 McLeod StreetOttawa, Ontario K2P 0Z8

Based on ‘The Isles: Domtar Lands Redevelopment Master Plan’ prepared by Perkins+Will and dated April 22, 2014

December 17, 2015

ZIBI DESIGN GUIDELINES

2ZIBI ONTARIO | DESIGN GUIDELINES | DECEMBER 17, 2015

OVERVIEWZibi is the redevelopment of the former Domtar Lands in the City of Ottawa, including both the Chaudière and Albert Islands. It proposed to transform the derelict and contamniated land into a world-class, sustainable community that combines the best of urbanity integrated with a vibrant waterfront. The transformed lands will provide public access to sections of the Ottawa riverfront that have been closed off for generations.

The site consists of both Chaudière and Albert Islands. These islands are physically disconnected from both cities by river channels and present an opportunity to create a unique sense of place amongst the heritage buildings on both islands. The redeveloped lands will feature a mix of uses in a compact form integrating existing heritage resources where possible, and emphasizing sustainable and active transportation through a network of shared streets that prioritize pedestrians and cyclists over automobiles.

PURPOSE AND APPLICATIONThe purpose of these guidelines is to provide urban design guidance at the planning application stage in order to assess, promote and achieve development as was originally planned within the Zibi district. Specific site context and conditions will also be reviewed in conjunction with these guidelines.

These guidelines are to be applied throughout the Zibi Ontario lands, including both the Chaudière and Albert Islands. The guidelines are not to be universally applied to every building proposed, but are instead intended to provide general design direction for the creation of a world-class, sustainable, mixed-use community that will be a destination within the City for years to come.

3 ZIBI ONTARIO | DESIGN GUIDELINES | DECEMBER 17, 2015

DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES• To promote development that celebrates the long heritage of the lands;• To promote development that connects seamlessly with the surrounding community

and the broader Capital Region;• To promote healthy living;• To promote ecological renewal and sustainability;• To promote and provide access to a vibrant waterfront;• To create a complete commmunity with a broad range of uses;• To promote and incubate innovation and creativity; and • To create and enhance views, both to and from the islands.

OFFICIAL PLAN AND BY-LAW DIRECTIONZibi is situated within the Central Area land use designation in the Official Plan. The Central Area is the economic and cultural heart of the City and a broad range of uses that foster day/night, year-round activity are encouraged. New buildings are to reflect a human scale of development and will result in a significantly enhanced pedestrian realm. The Central Area is made up of several distinct districts, including the new Zibi district, each with their own identity and character. [City of Ottawa Official Plan, Section 3.6.6]

Annex 8A of the Official Plan identifies protected view corridors within the Central Area. These corridors are aimed at protecting the visual integrity and symbolic primacy of the Parliament Buildings and other national symbols.

Annex 3 of the Official Plan contains design considerations that illustrate ways to achieve the Design Objectives and Principles of Section 2.5.1 fo the Official Plan. All other policies of the Official Plan, applicable regulations, the Private Approach By-law, Sign By-law, and Zoning By-laws must be met.

In addition, respect the municipal and provincial policies specifically related to additions and infill associated with heritage buildings and areas.


CONTEXT AND CHALLENGESZibi is situated along the shores of the Ottawa River, on the Chaudière and Albert islands. Being physically disconnected from the rest of the City, Zibi has an opportunity to create a unique sense of place and community on the islands. The site is situated between the Cities of Ottawa and Gatineau, along one of five major vehicular crossings between the two cities.

The Booth Street corridor, which links the City of Gatineau to the north with Highway 417 and Carling Avenue to the south, is a major vehicular connection which handles significant volumes of traffic. It will also provide the only vehicular connection to Zibi from either Ottawa or Gatineau. Currently, the road has a four-lane configuration adjacent to the site, narrowing to two lanes across the bridge. Pedestrian facilities are currently only provided on the east side of the bridge, with sidewalks on both sides of the street extending south from the site. To assist in facilitating the vision of a sustainable community, the Zibi Master Plan put forth a vision that included a renovation of the corridor to include bike lanes and pedestrian facilities continuing on both sides, across the bridge north to downtown Gatineau and south to LeBreton Flats. Discussions between the Cities of Ottawa and Gatineau are ongoing regarding the renovation of this corridor.

The Chaudière and Albert Islands have a long and rich heritage, both aboriginal and industrial, that must be highlighted by the Zibi development. Zibi must create a unique sense of place while responding to the heritage elements and highlighting the long aboriginal and industrial history of the site.

OTHER APPLICABLE DESIGN GUIDELINES• Urban Design Guidelines for Outdoor Patios• Urban Design Guidelines for High-Rise Housing


The urban design guidelines for the Zibi development are organized into the following six (6) sections:

1. Layout and Built Form2. Pedestrians and the Public Realm3. Site Circulation and Parking4. Open Space Design5. Environment6. Servicing and Utilities

GUIDELINES


1. Orient streets, woonerfs, and pedestrian lanes in a north-south direction to increase the amount of sun that reaches the public realm throughout the year

2. Stagger east-west streets to buffer the public realm against the prevailing west winds.

3. Extend the pattern of the existing streets and blocks to help increase access and connectivity

4. Celebrate the heritage of the site through the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings and the re-opening of historic streets and public spaces

LAYOUT & BUILT FORM 01

Orient north-south circulation routes to maximize sun exposure Stagger streets to buffer from wind

Extend the pattern of existing streets Celebrate the heritage of the site


RESIDENTIAL TOWNHOUSES

6. Articulate the massing of townhouses to express each individual unit

5. Enliven façades and the roofs of buildings with decks and private outdoor amenity areas for residents to inhabit


7. Design residential ground floor living spaces to directly engage the public realm

8. Activate the transition zone between private living spaces and the public realm with stoops, stairs, yards, and porches.

9. Differentiate individual units with changes in colour, materials, and/or minor façade articulation


RESIDENTIAL MID-RISE

10. Create generous common spaces including habitable roof tops that optimize and encourage use by residents

11. Articulate low and mid-rise buildings into smaller massing with major breaks in the façade and roof line in conjunction with changes in colour and/or materials


12. Create a strong relationship between private and public realm by locating decks, porches, and patios facing onto dedicated public outdoor spaces

13. Provide physical and visual connections between the public realm and semi-private public amenity areas. Through-block connections are encouraged to provide alternative pedestrian routes through the community

14. Activate the transition zone between private living spaces and the public realm by orienting primary unit entries on the ground floor towards adjacent public amenity areas, open spaces, lanes, or public rights-of-way


RESIDENTIAL HIGH-RISE

15. The tops of high-rise buildings should be distinctive in order to enrich the skyline and to enhance the role of the building as a landmark

16. High-rise building façades should be articulated to reduce the apparent mass of the overall building


17. Private terraces and sky gardens should be accommodated on tower façades in order to provide an opportunity for residents to inhabit and enliven the exterior walls, enjoy views and express a more recognizable human scale on the building exterior

18. The base of high-rise buildings should relate to a pedestrian scale and include active ground floor uses such as: community rooms, retail, health clubs, or other similar uses. Lobbies should be well lit, inviting, and directly engage the public realm


OFFICE

19. Include habitable roof tops and light coloured roofing to help reduce heating and cooling loads, address ‘urban heat island’ effects, and provide workers a significant private outdoor amenity area

20. Façade design should include high quality exterior materials, windows, sun control devices and other design elements to produce a well articulated building


21. Windows should be well-proportioned and operable at the upper levels. Glazing should provide a high degree of light transmittance and be non-reflective

22. Buildings should have one main entrance. Building entries should include lobbies that are inviting, well-lit, and secure. Entries and lobbies should be open to, and entered from, streets. The lobby should be clearly visible from the outside, both day and night

23. Outdoor plazas and public amenity areas should be incorporated into building frontages for employee and visitor uses, and for both planned and passive activities. It may be possible to incorporate program requirements or public art into these spaces.


HOTEL

24. A wide variety of guest amenities should be provided and incorporated into the overall design of new hotel facilities. Hotels and other places providing temporary lodging should leave visitors with a unique and lasting memory of the place


25. Hotel facilities should locate guest amenities, dining facilities, and other active uses along adjacent public amenity areas, open spaces, lanes, or public rights-of-way in order to allow visitors to visually and physically engage the community

26. Uses that can serve the daily needs of the community as well as temporary visitors are encouraged. These types of uses should be located where they can be easily accessed by residents, workers, and visitors alike


RETAIL

27. Ground floor retail, entertainment and other commercial uses must be physically and visually oriented towards a public amenity area, open spaces, lanes, or plaza. Retail and entertainment spaces should maintain a strong physical connection to the public realm

28. Outdoor seating areas associated with adjacent retail and entertainment spaces are encouraged. When incorporating outdoor seating and dining, a minimum sidewalk throughway should be maintained


29. Retail and entertainment façades should be devoted to transparent windows and doors, or be visually open, to allow maximum visual interaction between sidewalk areas and the interior of active use spaces

30. The base of buildings with retail and/or entertainment uses should be expressed with façade treatments that are scaled to human activity on the street and create a fine grain street rhythm

31. Lower levels of the building should include changes in materials, changes in fenestration, and architectural elements scaled to create a comfortable pedestrian zone


ADAPTIVE REUSE

32. New additions or new construction in the vicinity of a place of heritage significance should be in harmony with the existing structure, but also be clearly identifiable as new additions

33. Adaptation usually requires some element of new work. New additions are to include high quality contemporary design elements and materials, as appropriate, as well as being sympathetic to the place’s significance


34. Proportion, scale, and rhythm are important features of adaptive reuse buildings. Opportunities to maintain unique relationships between existing buildings and the site are encouraged

35. Through adaptation, the authenticity of a place should be revealed and the significance of the place should be interpreted. Adaptive reuse should be undertaken using high quality design and materials


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Buildings may project into the right-of-way up to one (1) metre, only above the first habitable floor, for a maximum of thirty percent (30%) of the length of the street frontage. Projections may not conflict with fire routes and loading areas

Occupied habitable space should be located at the buildings edge to activate and enliven the building base as the interface between the public and private realm

All retail and active use spaces in new buildings should have a target ground floor height of 5.5 metres in order to allow for a usable mezzanine

Ground floor residential units fronting a public amenity areas, open spaces, lanes, or public rights-of-way should be raised to provide a sense of separation and privacy for building occupants Retail ground floor spaces fronting a public public amenity areas, open spaces, lanes, or public rights-of-way should meet the adjacent sidewalk at grade

Commercial frontages should have minimum 60% of the length of the ground floor façade devoted to transparent windows and doors or visually open

Retail frontages should have minimum 80% of the length of the ground floor façade devoted to transparent windows and doors or visually open

Residential frontages should have minimum 50% of the length of the ground floor façade devoted to transparent windows and doors or be visually open

The use of dark or mirrored glass is not permitted

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GROUND FLOOR ACTIVATION


36. All buildings should be articulated into small bays along the ground floor in order to establish a fine-grained streescape with a high degree of visual variety

37. Ground floors should be expressed with façade treatments that are scaled to human activity by including changes in materials and changes in fenestration patterns

38. Ground floor retail frontages should support a lively and attractive pedestrian environment. Ground floor uses are encouraged to incorporate terraces, retail stands, outdoor seating and dining areas that will help activate the edge of the public realm

39. Residential frontages are intended to bring building life to the pedestrian level and into the public realm by including individual residential entries, a high degree of transparency at the ground floor, and a comfortable buffer between the street and the interior of residential units

40. Residential buildings should activate the and envliven the building base as the interface between public and private spaces


41. To create an urban streetwall defined by building edges fronting the public realm, a minimum of 85% of the total block length should be defined by building edges at or near the parcel line

42. Up to 50% of the streetwall façade can be recessed, up to a maximum of 2 metres, and still contribute to the creation of an urban streetwall. Variations may include: building entries, unit entries, covered pass-throughs, balconies, terraces, or architectural articulation


43. The apparent massing of larger buildings should be reduced by incorporating face offsets, notches, and other massing reduction strategies to support the creation of buildings that will be pedestrian scaled and visually well proportioned

44. Rooftop projections should be set back from the building streetwall. Stepbacks at the upper level of towers will create a more slender appearance and help reduce the overall apparent mass. Low-rise buildings should include step backs at upper levels to allow greater sun to the public realm and provide usable roof decks and terraces for building inhabitants


45. New commercial uses should provide usable outdoor space for workers and visitors. Open space may be located at any level of the building and may be provided as a balcony, terrace, or patio

46. Common open space can be provided in rooftop gardens, indoor recreation facilities, landscaped spaces designed for active use, and other creative spaces and should be accessible to all residents


47. Semi-public courtyards should be visually and physically linked to the public realm. This provides inhabitants of a district with a greater variety of routes to choose

48. Open spaces should be used to meet Zibi’s sustainability goals. Rainwater gardens and bioswales can be integrated into any part of the landscape

49. Amenities or facilities should be provided for the benefit of residents, such as swings, pools, barbecues, tables, benches, etc. A common open space may be outdoors or indoors


50. Walking routes should be designed to connect directly with existing paths and sidewalks in adjacent neighbourhoods

51. Pedestrian crossings at intersections with Booth Street should be clearly marked and placed on direct alignment with the continuing sidewalks or pathways

52. Curb extensions should be used to minimize crossing distance, where possible

53. Dedicated bike lanes and off-street pathways should provide safe and convenient connections to and from Zibi

54. Where possible, extend existing pathway connections

55. Implement Transportation Demand Management strategies to encourage alternate modes of transportation

56. Organize street tree plantings and site furnishing zones for an uncluttered streetscape

57. Provide a minimum 2.0 metre wide pedestrian throughway on both sides of neighbourhood streets

PEDESTRIANS & THE PUBLIC REALM0258. Ensure commercial animation along

building faces adjacent to public open spaces

59. Provide equitable lighting between car, bicycle and pedestrian zones

60. On Woonerf streets, provide flush curbs at the edge of the shared 6.0 metre centre lane

61. Provide enhanced planting and seating in areas with additional width

62. On Woonerfs and Pedestrian Lanes, use catenary and building face lighting to limit in-ground infrastructure

63. Consider the use of hard and green surface treatments to provide versatility


SITE CIRCULATION & PARKING 0364. Parking, loading and servicing facilities

should be screened when facing public rights-of-way, dedicated open spaces, semi-private open spaces and easements

65. Where feasible, multiple buildings above the same basement will share off-street parking, loading, and service facilities

66. Where reasonably feasible, off-street loading entrances and exits should be combined with automobile parking access

67. To encourage biking, off-street bicycle parking and shower facilities should be provided within commercial buildings

68. All efforts should be made to reduce the impact of parking, loading and servicing entrances along the street frontage by limiting their size and utilizing combined entries where possible

69. On-street loading spaces may be used as regular vehicle parking spaces and scheduled for loading. On-street loading spaces should be sized to accommodate appropriate vehicles


OPEN SPACE DESIGN0470. Frame the edge of open spaces to create

a high quality public environment within squares and plazas. Create courtyards and other open spaces surrounded by buildings

71. Locate open spaces to address sun, wind, and views and to create pleasant outdoor spaces

72. Surround plazas and squares with indoor and outdoor active uses that animate and support open space activities. These may include stores, restaurants, patios, coffee shops, etc. Adjacent building uses that support the open space should be directly accessible to the open space

73. Integrate and celebrate the heritage of the site through the design of open spaces and the use of public art, native plantings, reclaimed materials, etc.

74. Front patios and balconies onto dedicated open spaces to create a strong relationship between the public and private realm

75. Provide required amenity area for residents as both communal and private areas. Integrate useable private outdoor amenity space, such as balconies, into the architecture of the building, and ensure that the size and proportion of private amenity space creates a useable area


ENVIRONMENT0576. Orient buildings towards the sun for

potential “daylighting” benefits to reduce the need for artificial lighting and for passive solar gain to reduce the need for space heating

77. Design and position buildings to minimize the creating of uncomfortable microclimates on the street and in open spaces

78. Choose quality building materials that are durable and sustainable

79. Employ green roofs and light coloured roofing to help reduce heating and cooling loads, and address “urban heat island” effects

80. Employ the Zibi One Planet Action Plan and associated Design Guidelines in the design of buildings and public open spaces


SERVICING & UTILITIES 0681. The impact of mechanical and electrical

equipment, elevator housing, and heat, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) systems, whether located on the rooftop or at the base of a building, should be minimized

82. Locate transformer vaults, utility meters, service, loading, garbage and recycling areas within the buildings and/or internal to the site, away from the public view, and away from open space areas

151216 design guidelines - webcast.ottawa.ca

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