Once completed the new Toronto Public Library Dawes Road branch will replace the existing library at 416 Dawes Rd. The 22,000ft² multi-storey library and community hub will include office space for City of Toronto staff, flexible meeting rooms, counselling rooms and hoteling stations. The total budget for the project is estimated at $20 Million CAD. The project is being designed by Perkins + Will and Indigenous-led firm Smoke Architecture. The project is heavily inspired by regional Indigenous principles of sharing between people from all cultures.

The HIDI Group has been engaged to provide mechanical, electrical, plumbing, communications, audiovisual, security and energy modeling services for the Dawes Road Library. Lighting will be provided by HIDI’s lighting studio ALULA Lighting Design while HRCx will be providing commissioning for the project.

The HIDI team worked with the other design team members and City stakeholders to develop a Net Zero design for a library in Toronto and has worked in a collaborative and iterative manner to overcome the challenges associated with a small floor area and the existing building geometry.

Renderings Courtesy of Perkins+Will