Urban Update
Four projects putting fresh spins on old city spaces
Four city projects that have us cheering “in with the new!” BY ERIC MUTRIE
1 ARCHITECTURE 101 Perkins+will’s latest assignment: to create a vibrant new landmark for the University of Toronto’s once-prosaic Mississauga campus. Their design cantilevers two rectangular volumes above a wide, concrete-clad band. The glazed terra cotta-covered wings add administrative and academic space for various departments. A dramatic glass atrium sits between them with a grand staircase that acts as both student lounge space and an informal event venue; its extra-wide treads double as benches.
PERKINSWILL.COM
2 NO CARS GO Etobicoke’s days as a suburb are over. An upcoming civic centre will establish a pedestrian-friendly downtown district in the west-end community. The complex, envisioned by Danish firm Henning Larsen with Toronto’s Adamson Associates and PMA Landscape Architects, calls for a cluster of trapezoidal buildings that will pack in a council chamber, a pool and gym, a library, a daycare and office space. Their staggered arrangement shelters an adjacent outdoor square. HENNINGLARSEN.COM, ADAMSON-ASSOCIATES.COM, PMALARCH.CA
3 SHORE THING To imagine Mouth of the Creek Park, Public Work looked to the area’s surroundings: Fort York’s historic grounds to the left and the soaring modern towers of Cityplace to the right. The firm’s solution reshapes the site into a sloped promontory that reflects what existed back when the site sat at Toronto’s shoreline. Elevated lookouts offer a vantage point for taking Instagram-worthy shots of the city skyline, while the sheltered base is perfect for summer movie screenings. PUBLICWORK.CA
4 HOT TO TROT Come fall, CF Eaton Centre shoppers can model on a stylish new catwalk. To coincide with the mall’s 40th anniversary, Wilkinsoneyre envisioned a new pedestrian bridge that better synthesizes the aesthetics of the two structures it links: Eb Zeidler’s glassroofed galleria, and the historic Hudson’s Bay department store across the street. Thick, etched-bronze panels are densely clustered on the rounded south end and become thinner, sparsely spaced and more rectilinear as the runway proceeds north. WILKINSONEYRE.COM