Walker Townhouse Courtyard

Conceived as a small modern village in the heart of the city, this 34-unit condominium townhouse complex by Ernst Annau received a 1979 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence. Its six buildings meander around a courtyard, jogging to allow each unit to have a secluded patio garden bordering the central courtyard walkway. Four decades later, the waterproofing membrane over the underground parking garage below the complex had reached the end of its life and required replacement, necessitating the removal of the mature, much-loved courtyard landscape.

PLANT’s new landscape utilizes shrubs and taller perennials to emulate the shade and privacy conditions of mature plantings while the new trees get started. A key strategy was to offer the condominium owners scope for customizing their own patio areas – within a cohesively designed courtyard – with multiple options for large and small garden types, tailored to north-facing and south-facing orientations. Paving and lighting have been renewed and modernized.