The Viceroy Building at 1655 Dupont Street was an existing landmark, located in Toronto’s rapidly transforming Junction neighborhood at the crossroads of Dupont and Dundas Street, as well as the West Rail Path. It is well-situated to shed its low yield mix of warehousing, self-storage and office space to become a neighborhood hub for business and community use.

Suulin Architects worked with the client to enliven activity around the building, open up access and establish connections to the West Rail Path while creating places of different scales for people to use along the way. While the interiors will house businesses supported by people near and far, the site will be used to build interaction with the neighborhood and bolster the character of the area. A farmer’s market, outdoor film nights, maker space and other outdoor areas of flexible use will foster the evolution of the neighborhood and building.

Relocating existing parking away from the front made way for a more welcoming public face for pedestrians. Intensive planting, benches, new canopies, lighting and landscaping have replaced the sea of locked cars. The distinguishing twin silo will provide a distinctive new identity and a kiosk for micro vendors. New steps and ramps provide better access to the front entrances.

We developed the architectural language of this adaptive reuse to encourage connections between users in the building, their neighborhood and surrounding community and to lead pedestrians to percolate through the building and discover new places.

photos by Scott Norsworthy