Impossible Toronto: On the Courtyard

Why can’t we build this in Toronto?

This is the animating question behind On the Courtyard: Learning from European Blocks, a new architectural study by Studio VAARO and Gabriel Fain Architects, commissioned by the Neptis Foundation for the inaugural volume in its Impossible Toronto series. The book examines why the courtyard block — a time-honoured residential typology found across cities in Europe — has proven so successful and spotlights the regulatory constraints and policy frameworks that currently prevent us from being able to build this elegant and practical architectural form in our city. Crucially, it proposes a new answer, grounded in an old typology, to Toronto’s enduring missing middle quandary.

On view at the TYPE Books Queen West storefront, ‘Impossible Toronto: On the Courtyard’ is a window into a design vision that meets the moment: a need for gentle density that unlocks more housing at a friendly scale, cultivates urban nature and biodiversity, and improves communal experience and social cohesion. The installation showcases the publication, a physical model of a courtyard block, and visualizations of a proposed courtyard design. It also brings the project into conversation with books and ideas put forward by other architects, urbanists, and thinkers from Toronto and around the world.

‘Impossible Toronto: On the Courtyard’ is an invitation to dream bigger, build smarter, and design for efficiency and community without compromising on beauty and quality.

Join us on Monday, January 26 at 7pm for a reception with the authors and panel discussion with Aleris Rodgers (Studio VAARO), Marc Ryan (Public Work), and former senior planner with the City of Toronto Graig Uens (Batory Urban Planning & Project Management), moderated by Elizabeth Pagliacolo, Editor-in-Chief of AZURE Magazine.