THE RESIDENCE AT TRAILSIDE
Location: Charlottetown, PE
Function: Residential, Multi-Unit
Building Size: 26,200 SF
Status: Completed August 2024

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In 2018, Open Practice was commissioned to undertake a masterplan for an 11-acre parcel of land bordering the perimeter of Charlottetown, and to work with the land-owner in the creation of development covenants.

 

The Trailside residences are the first in a series of multi-unit buildings planned for this newly created neighbourhood. This project consists of two, twenty-four unit apartment buildings arranged to address the street, conceal surface parking requirements, and to form an exterior entry court and central meeting space for tenants.

 

Like many of our projects, we began by understanding how local typologies are organized, constructed, and delivered. We analyzed existing unit configurations to better understand access to natural light, space wasted with internal circulation and corridors, find efficiencies in methods of construction, and to understand how code requirements impact overall construction costs. We worked closely with the Client to set a clear objective to deliver a different type of multi-unit living experience for the local market. 

 

The form of the building is organized into a series of three gable-formed volumes breaking down the overall size of the building to a recognizable residential scale. Stair cores are introduced between units at alternating ends of the building – thus freeing up exterior walls for corner units, creating secondary entry points from the central parking area, and allowing natural daylight to enter central corridors.

 

A simple angle introduced into the floor plan breaks the façade further, focuses internal views from the unit living spaces, and provides privacy on the balconies. Window size and placement were studied to achieve a cost-effective window package that floods the units with natural daylight.

 

Exterior materials were carefully considered within the context of surrounding residential neighbourhoods. The simple forms are strengthened by the simplicity in materiality. The homogenous use of shingles reinforces the subdivision of the building into three small gabled forms and cement board is used as a secondary material to express recesses, cuts, and division of units at the ground floor.