TOBuilt
TOBuilt is a digital, crowd-sourced database of buildings, structures, heritage sites, and human-made landscapes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada maintained by the Toronto branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario. The database's initial catalogue was created by Robert Krawczyk in 2006. In 2015, ACO Toronto assumed the operation of TOBuilt and relaunched it on a new platform. As of December 2023, TOBuilt maintains entries for over 15,000 sites located across the city of Toronto.[1]
Database content
[edit]TOBuilt's central mandate is to document architecture and built heritage throughout Toronto's six boroughs: Old Toronto, North York, East York, York, Etobicoke, and Scarborough. Individual entries contain present and historical photographs of the site in question as well as information about its date of construction, architect, designer, creator, cultural history, architectural style, level of heritage designation, and location. Historical architectural styles that are highly represented in the database include Gothic Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne Revival, Edwardian, and Arts and Crafts. It also documents the use of early 19th-century English architectural styles in the city, including surviving Georgian, Regency, and Neoclassical buildings, as well as those representing modern styles such as Brutalism.[2] TOBuilt has documented various historical Indigenous sites across Toronto.[3]
TOBuilt has conducted several extensive surveys of architectural typologies in Toronto, including of missing middle architecture, places of worship, and schools.[4][5][6] In 2022, TOBuilt completed a first-of-its-kind research project documenting over 2,000 detached suburban houses, including Victory Houses, built between 1940 and 2000 in North York, Etobicoke, and Scarborough.[7] The database also maintains an updated list of "at-risk" buildings in the city that are currently threatened by demolition, redevelopment, neglect, or alteration, and most recently by provincial Bill 23.[8][9][10][11]
Architectural advocacy
[edit]In February 2021, the owner of a 3-storey Second Empire building designed by Scottish architect David Brash Dick in 1878 at 127 Strachan Avenue in Toronto's West End Niagara neighbourhood withdrew a demolition application after advocacy efforts led by TOBuilt.[12][13][14] The project centred around a TOBuilt Instagram campaign and an online petition garnering nearly 5,000 signatures.
References
[edit]- ^ "About TOBuilt". acotoronto.ca. Architectural Conservancy of Ontario Toronto. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ "TOBuilt search page". acotoronto.ca. Architectural Conservancy of Ontario Toronto. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ "TOBuilt Entries for Indigenous Sites". acotoronto.ca. ACO Toronto. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "TOBuilt Missing Middle catalogue". acotoronto.ca. Architectural Conservancy of Ontario Toronto. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ "TOBuilt places of worship catalogue". acotoronto.ca. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "TOBuilt schools catalogue". acotoronto.ca. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ Tersigni, Alessandro. "Toronto's suburban houses are culturally valuable even while reflecting imperfect urban planning". www.thestar.com. The Toronto Star. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "TOBuilt At-Risk Page". acotoronto.ca. ACO Toronto. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "TOBuilt Bill 23 At-Risk Carousel". acotoronto.ca. ACO Toronto. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, 2022". www.ola.org. Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "Historic Toronto hotel is at risk of being demolished". blogto.com. BlogTO. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ "127 Strachan Avenue". acotoronto.ca. TOBuilt. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
- ^ "TOBuilt Save 127 Strachan Avenue Instagram campaign". instagram.com. TOBuilt. Retrieved 29 June 2021.[self-published]
- ^ "Withdrawal of Residential Demolition Application - 127 Strachan Avenue". app.toronto.ca. City of Toronto. Retrieved 29 June 2021.