Hot off the press! 🔥🔥🔥
Nice to be included in @braunpublishing book Prefab + Modular Housing back again and better than ever by Sibylle Kramer.
So many good projects in here.
#prefabarchitecture
#prefabhousing
Childcare addition under construction at the École élémentaire Pavillon de la jeunesse in Hamilton.
This is one of three childcare additions and renovations that Workshop is delivering for the Conseil scolaire Viamonde in Ontario.
1106 Ouellette Avenue, Windsor for Windsor Essex Community Housing Corporation.
Since there are only windows on the south side of the former medical office building, our design maximizes the flexibility and natural light in the long linear affordable housing suites by having a partial-height wall divide the apartment into two spaces with the option to connect them through wide double doors.
Residents can decide which room they want to use for living and sleeping depending on their preferences.
All of the ground floor apartments are barrier-free.
Architectural team:
David Colussi
Thomas Petch
Shin Chiu
We are working with the Windsor Essex Community Housing Corporation to retrofit 1106 Ouellette Avenue from an existing two-storey medical office into 19 affordable homes.
Construction is well underway! Photo of cladding in progress.
The project is designed to meet EnerPHit certification (Passive House for renovations) to make energy efficient, thermally comfortable and accessible residences.
We are working with the Windsor Essex Community Housing Corporation to retrofit 1106 Ouellette Avenue from an existing two-storey medical office into 19 affordable homes.
Images show the rendering vs. existing building.
Hamilton Children's Museum renovation and addition.
Render to real life!
Architectural team:
David Colussi
Elaine Chau
Luke Rivet
Christian Kliegel
Photos by @blazingwitch
Workshop's renovation and addition of the Hamilton Children's Museum won a 2025 Hamilton Urban Design Award - Honourable Mention in the Public Buildings category!
A new barrier-free front entrance with a generous glass vestibule are designed to accommodate the arrival of 60 children at once.
The hallway, lined with yellow tapered-steel columns, provides breathing space between the original house’s red brick facade and the wood millwork that fronts the new spaces.
Photos by Cindy Blažević @blazingwitch
The interior exhibitions are designed by @hamilton_civicmuseums
Landscape architecture by @aboud.associates
Structural, electrical and mechanical engineering by @exp_services
The Hamilton Children's Museum is opening soon!
Hamilton Children’s Museum has been providing family-friendly learning from an 1875 farmhouse in Gage Park for forty years.
Our 350 square metre addition clad in blue glazed-block doubles the City of Hamilton building’s occupancy and makes more space for exhibitions, improves its accessibility and strengthens the relationship between the building and park.
The gable-roofed addition took cues from the original house, it’s relationship to the formal gardens, and the museum’s focus on hands-on learning through self-directed play.
The result is a colourful, child-focused design that nods to domestic form and scale, with a variety of materials and spaces to explore.
Photos by Cindy Blažević @blazingwitch@cityofhamilton@hamilton_civicmuseums
We are working with the City of Toronto and Covenant House on the adaptive re-use of 1615 Dufferin Street for a youth shelter that will provide critical services to help youth experiencing homelessness move toward permanent housing.
The building was most recently a medical office, previously a church. Soon to be a youth shelter!
Project team:
Shin Chiu, OAA
Aidan Lucas, OAA IA
We will share more images and info soon.
Hiatus House Transitional Housing
A new 40 apartment Passive House building that will create a secure and supportive environment for women and children in Windsor rebuilding their lives after experiencing violence.
Guided by women-centered housing principles, the project, currently in the design stage, delivers safety, dignity, and everyday convenience.
We have nested layers of security from the site perimeter fence to on-site social services wrapping the ground floor exterior, to resident-only shared spaces along the courtyard and, finally, to private apartments. A shift in material and colour on the courtyard facades mark the transition to the safe space within.
Corridors and common areas with clear site lines can help residents feel secure and allow mothers to monitor their children playing while they are cooking, doing the laundry or smoking. These design decisions help daily life run more smoothly. In some cases, women may be making the transition to single parenting.
Accessibility is built into every unit. Going beyond code and CMHC requirements, apartments feature wide entrances and doors that accommodate strollers, groceries, and visitors using mobility devices. Washrooms in all units are designed with 1500mm turning radii, all controls are placed at accessible heights, and all entries have door operator rough-ins.
The building is designed to achieve Passive House certification to create a healthy indoor environment for residents while reducing energy use for heating and cooling.
Project team:
David Colussi, OAA, BSS, CHPD
Elaine Chau, OAA, LEED AP
Thomas Petch, OAA, CHPD
Shin Chiu, OAA
