Junction at market value: a new life for the Toronto Weston flea market

Abstract

The City of Toronto’s current urban development is driven largely by efforts to refurbish existing sites, or by the demolition of the existing fabric to construct new buildings. This thesis takes the position that the adaptive reuse of the existing building stock is a more environmentally and socioculturally sustainable option. Focusing on the site of the Toronto Weston Flea Market, which sits at the junction of three distinct neighbourhoods that are undergoing redevelopment for a new transit hub. This thesis develops a set of guidelines for this industrial site’s future adaptability and proposes the design of a mixed-use commercial community hub that offers numerous amenities while reflecting the surrounding neighbourhoods’ identities and values. This thesis presents an adaptive framework with a set of guidelines to reuse the Toronto Weston Flea Market in a single design intervention to promote an alternative to new construction.