March 24, 2026

Waterworks is featured in an article in The Globe and Mail that highlights the project's alignment with the Toronto Green Standards (TGS) within a broader approach where sustainability is embedded into the design process from the outset.

In “Toronto architects spotlight sustainable properties,” Barbara Balfour traces the evolution of strategies such as green roofs—from once radical experiments to more standard practice across the city—reflecting the City of Toronto’s commitment to building with climate in mind. 

First introduced in 2010, the TGS established ambitious targets for energy performance, stormwater management, biodiversity, and public-realm design, positioning Toronto as an early national leader. Since then, more than 1,200 roofs have been installed throughout the city, alongside more widespread adoption of measures like bird-friendly glass, cycling infrastructure, and pedestrian-friendly streetscapes. 

As Diamond Schmitt’s Director of Sustainability Lisa Prime, notes, these standards translate into tangible civic outcomes: they shape how people feel in their city – comfort, access to nature, cycling, pedestrian life – but they’re also about infrastructure.

Waterworks exemplifies this integrated approach. The project rehabilitates, conserves, and expands a significant industrial heritage site—a 1932 City of Toronto Public Works building—into a dynamic civic anchor that integrates mixed-use programming, including a food-focused retail, a YMCA, housing, and social services. In doing so, the project embodies how thoughtful urban intensification can reduce environmental impact while strengthening community wellbeing. 

At the public realm, treelined-streetscapes, widened sidewalks, and extensive planting beds enrich the urban forest and invite walkability, naturally promoting active transportation. Above, biodiverse green roofs meadows reduce urban heat island effect, while expanding habitat for pollinators, directly advancing TGS performance objectives.

Since the implementation of the TGS, the cumulative impact has been significant. The City of Toronto estimates that approximately 169,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions have been cut annually, and that by 2050, the number could reach as much as 30.6 megatonnes per year, which is almost the equivalent of removing approximately 250,000 cars from the road. Green roofs alone have contributed to this impact, with hundreds of installations covering about 12.9 million square feet installed, diverting over 18-million litres of stormwater each year. 

Read the full article on The Globe and Mail here.