Toms + McNally Design

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Toms + McNally Design

Toms + McNally Design is a collaborative design studio. We see problems as opportunities. We exclusively work on projects that we have designed.

At Toms + McNally Design we collaborate with our clients to creatively respond to their project and its unique characteristics. We combine context, space, and a respect of materiality and environment to create enduring architecture. Toms + McNally Design offers full architectural services on a broad spectrum of projects including residential, recreational, religious, commercial, restaurant, and ca

fe for private and public clients. Toms + McNally also provides Construction Management services helping you get your project built. Please get in touch for more information. We look forward to meeting you and working with you on your project,

04/03/2025

Our office has been increasingly involved in affordable housing projects across Hamilton and Brantford, and we see firsthand the impact of the housing crisis. It’s a complex issue affecting countless lives, and we believe in doing what we can to help.
On April 11, Toms + McNally partner Graham McNally will be playing in Hockey Helps the Homeless Carity Tournament along with other Hamilton architects and not-for-profit developers. This is the inaugural HHTH tournament being held in Hamilton and the group selected to receive the proceeds from the event is the YMCA of Hamilton, Burlington, and Brantford.

From the YMCA site:
Funds raised will support two YMCA programs that actively combat homelessness for men and youth.
Located at the Hamilton Downtown Family YMCA, the Men's Residence provides clean, safe and affordable transitional housing for more than 175 men in Hamilton's urban core. The YMCA Men’s Residence supports men at risk, many facing both health and social challenges.
In Burlington, our Youth in Transition program is helping to support youth ages of 16 – 24 identify, develop and implement a personal plan based on their own goals for personal independence. The Y helps navigate the adult service systems and connects youth to relevant support and resources in the community that can help them find: a place to stay, full or part-time work or job training, life skills, emotional support and their own community.

Donating online is easy at this link and donations over $25 receive tax receipts - https://hhth.akaraisin.com/hamiltonburlington2025/b5174fd76494428386f4576d7a9e52d4/SponsorMe?abcId=21773534&TV=1&rc=grahamm65

03/20/2025

Toms + McNally Design are excited to announce the promotion of Tyler Malone to the role of Associate. Since joining the firm in 2023 Tyler has become an integral part of the T+M team.

Tyler’s experience spanning across multiple scales from commercial interiors to complex multi-building masterplans and urban design is helping Toms + McNally as we work to design buildings that shape the Cities of tomorrow.

"Since joining Toms + McNally, Tyler has quickly become a key leader within our team, bringing invaluable design expertise and experience navigating complex, multi-stakeholder projects,” says partner Graham McNally. “His contributions strengthen our firm as we continue to grow, and we look forward to his lasting impact in shaping our work and advancing our mission of building beautiful, sustainable cities for years to come."

03/06/2025

Throwback Thursday

An aerial view back to when City View Park in Burlington, ON was under construction in the late summer of 2020. In this shot you can see Menard Canada on site with Ira McDonald Construction Limited getting ground improvements to the site underway. Pretty incredible how far this site has come since then!

01/17/2025

Russell Wooten | Intern Architect

We are excited to welcome a new member to the Toms + McNally team. Russell joined the Toms + McNally team in late 2024. With extensive experience in delivering large scale performing arts and institutional projects, Russell brings a wealth of experience from a playful and empathetic focus on design, to the technical aspects of architectural drawing and communication with builders. With a passion for both the Arts and technology, Russell aims to provide healthy and meaningful architecture for communities that exceed client expectations.

12/23/2024

Happy Holiday’s from Toms + McNally Design! 2024 has been a great year of growth and new opportunities and we cannot wait to see what 2025 has in store for us!

Please note our office will be closing for the holidays the evening of December 23rd and returning January 2nd. We wish you a happy and safe holiday season and we look forward to seeing you in 2025!

12/13/2024

Toms + McNally were excited to attend the official opening and ribbon cutting of CityHousing Hamilton’s newest building at 257 King William. The building is constructed to passive house standards and constructed using modular construction. Once a parking lot, this land has been transformed and is now home to 24 individuals.

Architect:
Contractor:
Owner: CityHousing Hamilton

12/06/2024

Creating concept renderings is a common practice to illustrate what a project will look like once completed. Less common, however, is the opportunity to view the renders and reality side-by-side.

In this Render to Reality series we showcase some of our recent work with side-by-side comparisons of the renderings we created while designing the project and the final building.

Situated in a 20th century factory, Celebration Church Brantford is home to a public café, multiple open concept co-working offices, an event hall and multipurpose learning rooms along with other amenities. The vision for this space was to create a gathering space that the community would want to spend every day within, not only Sunday mornings. This vision was reflected in every aspect of the 21,000sqft design, welcoming the community at all scales.

By creating these visualizations throughout the development of the project allowed, the design team was able to make critical design decisions that ensured the project’s success. These decisions included:

• Strategic placement on interior partitions throughout the space that would best capture the natural movements on the daylight streaming in the clearstory windows. This provided the opportunity to allow daylight to be a focal point throughout the event hall.
• Capitalizing on the old industrial charm of the 20th century factory while not compromising on the requried program of the space, the visualizations allowed the design team to find the best way to accentuate the historic qualities throughout.

Toms + McNally, working closely with , brought these renderings to reality for this building. The final project photos by capture the progression from conceptual renderings to the completed project.

11/05/2024

Creating concept renderings is a common practice to illustrate what a project will look like once completed. Less common, however, is the opportunity to view the renders and reality side-by-side.

In this Render to Reality series we showcase some of our recent work with side-by-side comparisons of the renderings we created while designing the project and the final building.

One of Canada’s oldest golf courses, the Hamilton Golf and Country Club’s is home to some of the best holes in Canada. The historic clubhouse looks out onto the course, but previously there was limited outdoor seating for members and guests to enjoy the view of the grounds and the famous 18th green. The project Toms + McNally took on with the club expanded the outdoor patio space and introduced a canopy space that provides shade from the sun, shelter from the rain and an extended outdoor patio season than what the clubhouse previously had. The expansion nearly doubled the outdoor patio space for members, taking the patio to an expansive 7,900 square foot area.

By creating these visualizations throughout the development of the project allowed, the design team was able to make critical design decisions that ensured project’s success. These decisions included:

• Establishing the use of a V shaped canopy roof along the patio, this design creates a feeling of openness to the golf course while maintaining views from the interior of the clubhouse out to the course, as well as not obstructing views from the second level of the clubhouse.
• Strategic placement of fans and heaters throughout the canopy allows for the expansion of the patio season without compromising the design intent.
• Strategic lighting locations on the low landscape walls which form the edge of the patio and create a feeling of containment for guests.
• Finalized design of the new roof structure to highlight the clubhouse without detracting from its inherent charm.

Toms + McNally, working closely with , brought these renderings to reality for this building. The final project photos by capture the progression from conceptual renderings to the completed project.

10/18/2024

The City of Brantford recently celebrated the grand opening of Lucy Marco Place, a design-build renovation project designed by Toms + McNally Design and constructed by Harbour Hills Construction Management Inc.

The building provides 41-units of affordable housing aimed at providing safe and stable homes for vulnerable citizens. Repurposed from a former student residence, the building offers both transitional and permanent housing with support services. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, city officials highlighted the significance of the project in addressing housing needs. Lucy Marco, a longtime housing advocate and the building's namesake attended the ribbon cutting and expressed her delight at the building's transformation.

08/01/2024

Creating concept renderings is a common practice to illustrate what a project will look like once completed. Less common, however, is the opportunity to view the renders and reality side-by-side.

In this Render to Reality series we showcase some of our recent work with side-by-side comparisons of the renderings we created while designing the project and the final building.

The pavilion located within City View Park in Burlington is the newest amenity in the park. The building is organized around the existing flow of visitors to the park and encourages natural movement through the building as park users move between the natural landscape and recreational features. The pavilion is an inclusive and accessible public facility whose rooftop photovoltaic array helps it achieve net-zero energy.

By creating these visualizations throughout the development of the project allowed, design team was able to make critical design decisions that ensured project’s success. These decisions include :

These decisions included:

• Large overhangs on the exterior create shaded areas for park visitors to enjoy while participating in sports, hiking the trails, or appreciating the local wildlife.
• Using wood for the primary structural elements creates a warm, inviting interior that reflects the environmentally and culturally significant location on the Niagara Escarpment which is echoed in the limestone exterior of the building.
• Accurately modeling solar exposure for roof-mounted solar panels helps the fully electric building achieve net-zero energy.
• Positioning windows to maximize daylighting potential without allowing direct sunlight, which prevents interior overheating during the day.

Toms + McNally, working closely with , brought these renderings to reality for this building. The final project photos by capture the progression from conceptual renderings to the completed project.

05/15/2024

On Friday May 10th, the hosted a tour of Hamilton showcasing some of the exciting new buildings recently completed or nearing completion in Hamilton.

& Urban Strategies, whose Hamilton office is in the building, invited the group of developers, planners, architects, and visionaries into our 62-64 King project for a tour and happy hour celebration. Currently the project is nearing completion thanks to the ongoing efforts by contractor .

Principal Graham McNally described the challenges the building faced, some of the history of the building, and the approach Toms + McNally took to create light filled, unique spaces throughout the building.

05/09/2024

Anna van Milligen | Architectural Designer

We are excited to welcome a new member to the Toms + McNally team. Anna joins our team with a background as a practicing sculpture and installation artist. Her training in carpentry and architectural technology rounds out her unique, multidisciplinary approach to the design of playful, functional spaces. Anna’s endless curiosity and love of learning means her time outside the office is often spent taking classes and developing new skills.

04/23/2024

📸 captured great view of membrane installation at a the CityHousing Hamilton 40 unit passive house building under construction at the Queenston Traffic Circle.

This building is the culmination of many years of work to turn the former City Motor Hotel into these desperately needed homes.

Toms + McNally has been involved with this project since 2014 - first working to develop and test the zoning for the site, then working with Architects to design the building currently under construction.

03/26/2024

We are excited to show the progress of the 62 King John Buildings located at 62-64 King Street in Hamilton as the project approaches completion.
The renovation merges two independent, adjacent buildings in Hamilton’s downtown into one {amazing thing}. The merge created very large floor plates however introduced a challenge as there was limited opportunity to bring in natural light from the north and south facades because the heritage buildings that line the historic Gore Park are very deep with lengths from front to back that are greater than one hundred and fifty feet.

Bringing natural light into these buildings was a critical goal for the project to create high quality interior space and bring the dynamics of the changing sun, sky, and clouds into the building. In response, a central skylight and atrium links the two buildings and interconnects the buildings levels and circulation.
This completed feature provides a dramatic, light-filled heart to the beautiful heritage building.

Stay tuned for a future post that will show the completed project!

Project Team
Owners: Patrick Bermingham & Malcolm Silver
Engineering Consultants: Mantecon Partners
Contractor: Harbour Hills Construction Management

03/15/2024

Toms + McNally Design are excited to announce the promotion of Devin Braun to the role of Associate. Since joining the firm in 2021 Devin has become an integral part of the T+M team.

Devin’s experience leading local and international design teams and her dedication to thoughtful, responsible design is helping Toms + McNally as we work to design buildings that shape the Cities of tomorrow.

“Devin’s expertise and experience has been an invaluable addition to our team. Her enthusiasm in tackling complex projects with compressed schedules has made her a leader in our office and in Hamilton’s architectural community,” says partner Graham McNally. “We are excited to continue to work to build our vision of beautiful, sustainable cities rooted in their specific place and know Devin will continue to play a vital role in our practice.”

03/12/2024

The warm weather has us thinking about how nice it would be to spend time on our recently finished feature patio at Hamilton Golf & Country Club!
The existing patio at the Hamilton Golf & Country Club overlooks the 18th hole of the course - a perfect place to experience the finales of world class tournaments. To extend the use of the clubhouse patio, Toms + McNally lead the consultant team to design a new canopy. Independent from the existing historic building, the canopy creates a sheltered transition between the expansive golf course and the intimate interior spaces of the clubhouse.

Critical to the success of the project was the need for the new roof structure to enhance the clubhouse, without detracting from its inherent charm. Borrowing warm materiality from the clubhouse interior and through meticulous coordination of services like heaters, fans, light fixtures and multiple structural grids, the addition maintains a satisfying lightness adjacent to the clubhouse and frames the course’s famous 18th green.

Careful attention to detailing and the use of high-quality materials results in the roof structure giving the impression it was not a renovation, but is an integral part of the original design of the building.

Project Team:
Client: Hamilton Golf & Country Club
Landscape Architect: Seferian Design Group, Mike Flint
Structural Engineering: Blackwell Engineers
Mechanical & Electrical Engineers: CK Engineering
General Contractor: Ira McDonald
Photos By: Arnaud Marthouret

03/04/2024

Devin Braun | Associate | Architect

Devin is new to the Hamilton community and joined Toms + McNally Design in 2021. With a natural attention to detail and compassion for the outdoors Devin is focused on finding harmony between the built, landscaped, and undisturbed environments. Passionate about limiting our impact on the planet, Devin encourages creative solutions to all types of project challenges with a priority on experiential and responsible design. Her passion for ‘place’ means you can find her happy in a nook of the garden or exploring dense urban realms.

Photography:

02/26/2024

Sam Winger | Architectural Designer

Sam has worked in some aspect of the construction industry since high school, continuing in his career by joining the Toms + McNally team in early 2022. Sam’s practical experience is always an asset, ensuring projects are thoughtful, grounded, and organized. Sam’s friendly nature and honest attitude make communication and coordination easy, and projects run successfully. Sam’s personal time is spent with his family and his construction knowledge extends to his home life as he spends a great deal of time working on DIY projects with his two young boys.

Photography:

Address

301-41 King William Street
Hamilton, ON
L8R1A2

Telephone

+12897682211

Website

http://www.toms-mcnally.ca/

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