There is much to learn from the resilient and adaptable warehouse buildings that line the streets of Canada’s historic manufacturing districts. ‘Historical Tall-Wood Toronto’ is an evidentiary database of late 19th and early 20th century vernacular brick and beam buildings that were built using the fire restrictive specifications and construction technology of Heavy Timber Mill-Construction (mill-construction) in Toronto.
This research in this publication illustrates the urban trajectories of 42 select examples of mill-construction and analyzes patterns in their development to create a morphological index of the set of buildings. The index provides a record of architectural, urban development, and sociocultural information which defines the distinct urban-vernacular typology.
As the world strives to transition toward a circular economy, architects are being challenged to accommodate global population growth and the need for more housing, commercial and institutional buildings. The tall wood buildings of mill construction represent a North American vernacular architecture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries that has withstood the test of time. These stalwart, versatile buildings should inspire today’s architects to invent a 21st century vernacular that not only addresses climate action imperatives, but the need to develop buildings that balance environmental, economic and social aspirations to bequeath a legacy for future generations. They can teach us a great deal about appropriate building technology in an era of “throw away” buildings.