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
| Jan 20, 2011
Houston Dynamo soccer team plans new venue
Construction is scheduled to begin this month on a new 22,000-seat Major League Soccer stadium for the Houston Dynamo. The $60 million project is expected to be ready for the 2012 MLS season.
| Jan 20, 2011
Worship center design offers warm and welcoming atmosphere
The Worship Place Studio of local firm Ziegler Cooper Architects designed a new 46,000-sf church complex for the Pare de Sufrir parish in Houston.
| Jan 20, 2011
Construction begins on second St. Louis community center
O’Fallon Park Recreation Complex in St. Louis, designed by local architecture/engineering firm KAI Design & Build, will feature an indoor aquatic park with interactive water play features, a lazy river, water slides, laps lanes, and an outdoor spray and multiuse pool.
| Jan 20, 2011
Community college to prepare next-gen Homeland Security personnel
The College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Ill., began work on the Homeland Security Education Center, which will prepare future emergency personnel to tackle terrorist attacks and disasters. The $25 million, 61,100-sf building’s centerpiece will be an immersive interior street lab for urban response simulations.
| Jan 19, 2011
Industrial history museum gets new home in steel plant
The National Museum of Industrial History recently renovated the exterior of a 1913 steel plant in Bethlehem, Pa., to house its new 40,000-sf exhibition space. The museum chose VOA Associates, which is headquartered in Chicago, to complete the design for the exhibit’s interior. The exhibit, which has views of five historic blast furnaces, will feature artifacts from the Smithsonian Institution to illustrate early industrial America.
| Jan 19, 2011
Baltimore mixed-use development combines working, living, and shopping
The Shoppes at McHenry Row, a $117 million mixed-use complex developed by 28 Walker Associates for downtown Baltimore, will include 65,000 sf of office space, 250 apartments, and two parking garages. The 48,000 sf of main street retail space currently is 65% occupied, with space for small shops and a restaurant remaining.
| Jan 19, 2011
Biomedical research center in Texas to foster scientific collaboration
The new Health and Biomedical Sciences Center at the University of Houston will facilitate interaction between scientists in a 167,000-sf, six-story research facility. The center will bring together researchers from many of the school’s departments to collaborate on interdisciplinary projects. The facility also will feature an ambulatory surgery center for the College of Optometry, the first of its kind for an optometry school. Boston-based firms Shepley Bulfinch and Bailey Architects designed the project.
| Jan 19, 2011
San Diego casino renovations upgrade gaming and entertainment
The Sycuan Casino in San Diego will get an update with a $27 million, 245,000-sf renovation. Hnedak Bobo Group, Memphis, Tenn., and Cleo Design, Las Vegas, drew design inspiration from the historic culture of the Sycuan tribe and the desert landscape, creating a more open space with better circulation. Renovation highlights include a new “waterless” water entry feature and new sports bar and grill, plus updates to gaming, poker, off-track-betting, retail, and bingo areas. The local office of San Francisco-based Swinerton Builders will provide construction services.
| Jan 19, 2011
Extended stay hotel aims to provide comfort of home
Housing development company Campus Apartments broke ground on a new extended stay hotel that will serve the medical and academic facilities in Philadelphia’s University City, including the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The 11,000-sf hotel will operate under Hilton’s Homewood Suites brand, with 136 suites with full kitchens and dining and work areas. A part of the city’s EnergyWorks loan program, the project aims for LEED with a green roof, low-flow fixtures, and onsite stormwater management. Local firms Alesker & Dundon Architects and GC L.F. Driscoll Co. complete the Building Team.
| Jan 19, 2011
New Fort Hood hospital will replace aging medical center
The Army Corps of Engineers selected London-based Balfour Beatty and St. Louis-based McCarthy to provide design-build services for the Fort Hood Replacement Hospital in Texas, a $503 million, 944,000-sf complex partially funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The firm plans to use BIM for the project, which will include outpatient clinics, an ambulance garage, a central utility plant, and three parking structures. Texas firms HKS Architects and Wingler & Sharp will participate as design partners. The project seeks LEED Gold.
