Brand-new village for Toronto

The Toronto Society of Architects (TSA), like many other societies in various cities, has walking tours of special buildings. This summer, the TSA has added Pan Am Games facilities to its walking tour.

So, what are the Pan Am Games? These are like the Olympics, but for countries in the Americas and the Caribbean only. The first such games were held in 1951.

This year the games will be held in Toronto, Canada. Over 7,600 athletes and officials are expected to attend. 

Needless to say, this calls for a large number of facilities and the city has risen to the challenge. Ten all new world-class facilities are being built, including an athletics stadium, an aquatics centre and field house, velodrome and soccer stadium.

The most important addition, however, is the Pan Am village located on an 80-acre site next to the Don River in Toronto, in its waterfront district. The stadium is equipped to house 10,000 athletes and officials.

The village complies with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. It has a large transportation mall for the convenience of athletes and officials – this is in keeping with Canada’s transit-friendly image and is reminiscent of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The best part of this construction is that like the Asiad village in Delhi, after the games, the village will become a mixed-use neighbourhood. It will house affordable housing for low-income families, luxury condominiums, a YMCA and a dormitory for nearby college students.

Thus, the architectural walking tour has sparked lot of interest. It includes the Goldring Centre for High-Performance Sport at the University of Toronto, one of “the remarkable new buildings” erected to host the 2015 Games in July, co-coordinator Marta O’Brien said. The 2,000-seat indoor arena won an Ontario Association of Architects award of excellence.

The TSA walking tours have something for anyone who appreciates great architecture. The addition of Toronto’s new Pan Am facilities is adding to the interest. Any International Games adds value to a city’s architectural scene and Toronto with its new buildings for the Pan Am games is no exception.