With his signature, outlandish, and dramatic forms, people usually either love or hate a Frank Gehry building in their vicinity.
After Gehry’s proposed skyscraper complex was put down by critics, he recently unveiled a reworked design that reduces the number of towers from three to two from the original plan for the development in Toronto’s entertainment district, DeZeen reports.
In addition to reducing the number of towers, he increased the number of floors—the original plan topped out at 86 stories for the tallest building; The revised plan tops out at 92 stories. The new design also allows the existing Princess of Wales Theatre at King Street West to remain, as the original plan would have required it to be demolished.
The mixed-use project, which is done in collaboration with Canadian art tycoon David Mirvish, is named the Mirvish+Gehry Toronto. According to the project's website, the building will "create a new visual identity for the city’s premier arts district. The conceptual designs, which will continue to evolve, consist of two six-story stepped podiums, which relate in scale and articulation to the neighbouring buildings, topped by two iconic residential towers, ranging in size from 82 to 92 storys. Each tower has a complementary but distinctive design, which fits with the history and texture of the surrounding neighbourhood."
The complex will house residential, retail, office, gallery and recreational spaces.
In an interview with the Toronto Star, Gehry, who was born in Toronto in 1929 and lived there until he moved to California as a teenager with his family, says that with two towers instead, he thinks the project is “more Toronto.”
“Fred and Ginger grew up and moved to Toronto,” Gehry joked, referencing how having two towers instead makes it similar to the Dancing House building he designed in Prague that also came under scrutiny at the time, with many dismissing it as an eyesore.
“In a way, two towers feel better. It’s not so crowded.”
Related Stories
| May 1, 2013
A LEGO lover's dream: Guide to building the world's iconic structures with LEGO
A new book from LEGO master builder Warren Elsmore offers instructions for creating scale models of buildings and landmarks with LEGO.
| May 1, 2013
New AISC competition aims to shape the future of steel
Do you have the next great idea for a groundbreaking technology, model shop or building that could potentially revolutionize the future of the steel design and construction industry? Enter AISC's first-ever Future of Steel competition.
| May 1, 2013
Data center construction remains healthy, but oversupply a concern
Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are among the major tech companies investing heavily to build state-of-the-art data centers.
| May 1, 2013
Groups urge Congress: Keep energy conservation requirements for government buildings
More than 350 companies urge rejection of special interest efforts to gut key parts of Energy Independence and Security Act
| May 1, 2013
World’s tallest children’s hospital pushes BIM to the extreme
The Building Team for the 23-story Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago implements an integrated BIM/VDC workflow to execute a complex vertical program.
| Apr 30, 2013
Healthcare lighting innovation: Overhead fixture uses UV to kill airborne pathogens
Designed specifically for hospitals, nursing homes, child care centers, and other healthcare facilities where infection control is a concern, the Arcalux Health Risk Management System (HRMS) is an energy-efficient lighting fixture that doubles as a germ-killing machine.
| Apr 30, 2013
First look: North America's tallest wooden building
The Wood Innovation Design Center (WIDC), Prince George, British Columbia, will exhibit wood as a sustainable building material widely availablearound the globe, and aims to improve the local lumber economy while standing as a testament to new construction possibilities.
| Apr 26, 2013
Apple scales back Campus 2 plans to reduce price tag
Apple will delay the construction of a secondary research and development building on its "spaceship" campus in an attempt to drive down the cost of developing its new headquarters.
| Apr 26, 2013
Documentary shows 'starchitects' competing for museum project
"The Competition," a new documentary produced by Angel Borrego Cuberto of Madrid, focuses on the efforts of five 'starchitects' to capture the design contract for the new National Museum of Art of Andorra: a small country in the Pyrenees between Spain and France.
| Apr 26, 2013
Solving the parking dilemma in U.S. cities
ArchDaily's Rory Stott yesterday posted an interesting exploration of progressive parking strategies being employed by cities and designers. The lack of curbside and lot parking exacerbates traffic congestion, discourages visitors, and leads to increased vehicles emissions.