Four condo rooftops built for resort-level relaxation

Maple House

Where: Canary Landing Developer: Dream Unlimited, Tricon Residential and Kilmer Group Landscape architect: CCxA Year opened: 2023 Amenities: Pool, community garden, kids’ play area, green roof, barbecue and lounge, covering 17,768 square feet

CCxA, the architects behind Sugar Beach, Berczy Park and Love Park, among other downtown public spaces, brought a similar ethos to the design of the outdoor areas of Maple House at Canary Landing. “We approach amenities like parks,” says landscape architect Marc Hallé. “We wanted to build in flexibility so that there are opportunities for activities across all hours of the day and into the evening.”

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Maple House has five outdoor spaces spanning more than 17,000 square feet across three residential buildings: Maple East, Maple Central and Maple South. While each building has its own eighth-floor barbecue and lounge area, additional amenities on the third floors are open to residents of all three buildings. On Maple Central’s third-floor deck are loungers and sun umbrellas around an oblong pool that sits on a raised lawn, with a lower perimeter and safety railing below. “The pool area is higher than the guardrails, so you don’t feel like you’re enclosed,” Hallé says.

The sprawling lawn provides space for outdoor activities. There’s also a semi-circular sunken kids’ play area connected to an indoor children’s room. It’s bordered by a bronze-coloured enclosure that sits on a curved wall with synthetic-turf-covered seating. “It’s like a little amphitheatre for kids,” says Hallé.

A bridge connects the pool area to a community garden on the third floor of Maple West. Evergreen Brick Works maintains the 12 raised concrete beds and leads monthly gardening classes and plant workshops here, including an annual spring planning session where residents choose what they want to grow. A green roof loaded with sun-loving plants like asters, ferns and sumac provides even more outdoor zen.

Elm-Ledbury

Where: Queen and Church Developer: Fitzrovia
Landscape architect: Hariri Pontarini Architects Year opened: 2024 Amenities: Infinity pool, dog run, kids’ play area, lounge, barbecues, pizza oven, DJ area and fire tables, covering 12,385 square feet

When planning the outdoor amenities for this pair of purpose-built rental towers in the Garden District, developer Fitzrovia focused on giving residents an extension of their living spaces. They enlisted the architects at Hariri Pontarini to design an infinity pool, lounge and barbecue area for each tower, plus a kids’ play space and a dog run, located on bridges connecting the two buildings.

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The pools are on the penthouse levels, surrounded by cabanas and sun loungers. A lawn for outdoor yoga and themed parties is in the works at Ledbury. Below, a separate 10th-floor lounge area is equipped with commercial-grade Napoleon barbecues and pizza ovens, along with gas fire tables and seating. There’s even a DJ booth with all the necessary equipment plug-ins.

The kitchen and lounge are free for residents to use, and the appliances are bookable via the building’s app. “We want to give people enough offerings so that they can host their own parties here,” says Bahar Joshan Poosh, Fitzrovia’s executive vice-president of design. The outdoor floors are heated to melt any snow, so the kitchens are usable year-round. In the winter, the building sets up heated domes that seat up to 12 for cozy “outdoor” dining.

Joshan Poosh has seen how the shared amenities and events—the building hosts two or three every month—have created opportunities for residents to connect. “People meet each other through the events, and then they become friends and start hosting their own parties together,” she says.

123 Portland

Where: Portland and Adelaide Developer: Minto Landscape architect: NAK Design Strategies Year opened: 2024 Amenities: Cabanas, outdoor yoga and fitness lawn, outdoor fire tables, lounge and green roof, covering 3,250 square feet

Robert Ng, a principal landscape architect at NAK, has been designing outdoor spaces for more than five decades. While he’s worked on high-profile public pro­jects like Maple Leaf Square (also known as Jurassic Park) and the Rutherford GO station, his brief for 123 Portland was to create an alfresco space with an intimate, boutique-y feel.

The north side of the rooftop features a curved bench made of ipe, or Brazilian walnut. Herringbone and checkerboard pavers add visual interest, and terracotta planters create a soft, organic feel. There are three kitchen areas with dining tables, plus cushy lounge seating around natural-gas fire tables.

At the southern edge, a second lounge area serves as a flex space for socializing or remote work (it’s equipped with plugs and Wi-Fi). There’s a pergola overhead for shade and more of those terracotta planters holding Indigenous grassy reeds. “You’re embraced by vegetation out here,” says Ng.

For even more serious lounging, cabanas with daybeds are tucked into a green roof with native trees, shrubs and grasses. A flat expanse of lawn nearby can be used for outdoor yoga or, as Ng says, for when you just want to feel the grass underneath your feet.

The Well, Classic Series I

Where: Front and Spadina Developer: Tridel Landscape architect: The MBTW Group Year opened: 2024 Amenities: Rooftop pool, dog run, lounge with barbecues, TV lounge with fireplace and community plots, covering 21,904 square feet

Landscape architects at the MBTW Group designed the outdoor areas at four of the Well’s seven residential buildings. “They were all different shapes, so it wasn’t a cookie-cutter approach where we could just copy and paste,” says principal designer and partner Christine Abe.

The tallest of the towers is the 38-­storey Classic Series I. Its sky-high rooftop features a pool and a large wood deck with cabanas and loungers. Beside it is a tiled misting area where residents who aren’t in the mood to fully submerge can still cool down and enjoy the view.

The rest of the amenities are located on a seventh-floor podium. A green space enclosed by a walkable pathway connects to what Abe describes as a “series of outdoor rooms”: seating, kitchen and dining areas, plus a TV lounge. On the north side of the podium, there’s an outdoor dog run as well as a second seating area with chaise lounges and bistro tables. “People can read and relax or use this as a co-working space,” says Abe. There are also three outdoor dining pods, each with custom-designed overhead trellises that create dappled shade. Two outdoor kitchens outfitted with sinks, Kalamazoo pizza ovens and Napoleon barbecues round out the amenities.

The bookable outdoor TV lounge is equipped with a 65-inch screen and a two-sided linear gas fireplace. “It’s usable in fall or early spring with a fire on,” says Abe. Along the sunny southern edge of the building, facing Front Street, there’s a large garden that’s maintained by the building, plus 12 prefabricated garden beds that are “auctioned off” to residents who wish to grow their own plants.