McCormick Reimagined

The redevelopment of abandoned McCormick factory in London Ontario

 

Site Design

2019

Academic

London, ON, Canada

Affiliation: Fanshawe College

Author: Kaleigh Morris

Overview: This is a  design plan for a co-living community to address the lack of available and affordable housing in London Ontario.  This plan would provide affordable smaller units for students wishing to live alone and help alleviate the lack of available, affordable apartments for the general public.  The site is the old McCormick Factory located at 1156 Dundas Street.  The design plan includes 350 micro units, market apartments and townhouses while keeping the heritage properties of the original McCormick building.  While providing affordable housing, the design plan includes the development of public meeting places in the building and outdoors to create a sense of community. The site does presented some challenges. These include its heritage designation and a brownfield site which requires developers to complete a remediation process before construction can begin.  This design plan will help improve the aesthetic appeal of the neighborhood and have a positive impact by creating a sense of community while providing affordable housing.

Learnings: For this project I learned the importance of building a well rounded community. Before deciding on a site plan I conducted surveys of the surrounding houses and neighborhoods to determine what they felt their community needed. This was also one of the first projects where I learnt the importance of including participants in the design process. Although it was challenging to consider all the different opinions of the surrounding neighbors, the result is a community space that will be used and loved. I also learned a great deal about historic buildings, I found it enjoyable to combine a modern design plan while maintaining the historic attributes of the site.

Picture8.png

Site Plan: The inside spaces include media and study rooms, fitness facilities and lounges.  Outside, tenants can enjoy the play area, multi-use sports court, community garden, private courtyard and multi-use field.