The first Canadian location of the Italian food marketplace, Eataly was part of a $100-million redevelopment of the Manulife Centre. Spanning three floors, Eataly includes various Italian-themed restaurants, areas such as a butcher and a brewery, and a variety of markets serving a range of goods imported directly from Italy. To support these offerings, Eataly features storage space in the back of house area and a commercial kitchen.

Smith + Andersen was engaged as the mechanical design consultants on this project, which brought the world’s largest Italian marketplace to Toronto. The mechanical design was tailored to the unique spaces within the Eataly marketplace, with each individual station facing a variety of mechanical requirements. 

In order to support the commercial kitchen, the design accommodated heavy kitchen equipment and giant pizza ovens with mechanical systems such as kitchen exhaust, makeup air, and cooling ducts. These systems had to blend in with low ceiling heights (while applying back drafting) and co-exist with the existing mechanical systems serving the Manulife Centre base building.

Eataly also features a loggia architectural feature on the second floor that required special heating and cooling in order to maintain occupant comfort when opened.