The Greenwich Proposal site sits at the confluence of Greenwich Street and Clarence Street, between the Mohawk Lake District and the traditional Downtown City Centre. As such, the proposal presents itself as a new visual gateway to the city centre from the surrounding region, visible to motorists approaching and departing the city centre along Clarence street or Greenwich street. It also forms a literal gateway; linking the emerging Greenwich pedestrian and cycling corridor and the Shallow Creek Park and Mohawk Lake District beyond via the existing Newport Street.

The architectural concept for the Greenwich Proposal site draws inspiration from both of these conditions; a transportation gateway, and symbolic relationship to the Grand River and surrounding watershed.

The building form, and materiality make poetic reference to the eroded gorges and riverbanks found throughout the surrounding watershed; A mass, carved away over time, revealing the layers and strata of a geologic history.

Within the Greenwich proposal, these strata are articulated through terracing floorplates, forming sheltered courtyards and a symbolic opening or valley between the two buildings at Newport Street – framing this new gateway between Greenwich Street and like a navigable passage or gorge along a watershed.

This proposal integrates emerging sustainability principles at the building and urban scale helping to build healthy walkable community while providing much needed housing to the growing city centre of Brantford, Ontario.