Urban Update
Five projects putting a fresh spin on city life
Five projects putting fresh spins on seasoned city spaces
“THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE BUILDING ARE EXPOSED THROUGH AN INTERCONNECTED STAIRCASE THAT CAN BE SEEN FROM ELIZABETH STREET. YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE SICKKIDS STAFF MOVING AROUND. THE PROGRAM OF THE BUILDING REVEALS ITSELF.” – PATRICK FEJÉR, SENIOR DESIGN PRINCIPAL AT B+H ARCHITECTS
1 GREY’S ANATOMY B+H Architects’ Sickkids Patient Support Centre (PSC) could be the hit medical drama of the season. The 22- storey building at the corner of Elm and Elizabeth streets will feature an undulating, transparent facade with an attention-grabbing blue-ribbon staircase where you’ll see researchers dashing between levels. This transparency is all part of a plan to support hospital staff and promote community-building in the Discovery District. It’s also the first phase of Project Horizon, an ambitious Sickkids campus redevelopment strategy that will soon add a new Patient Care Centre to house half of the province’s pediatric intensive-care beds. BHARCHITECTS.COM; SICKKIDS.CA
2 LINE READING Leuwebb Projects’ exuberant public artwork Outside the Lines consists of 10 twisty installations at Wilson station. The squiggly, colourful lines wrap around corners, burst from the ground and even snake up a column – suggesting a multitude of possible trajectories to commuters. In fact, their nonlinear forms take cues from the exhilarating air shows once held at the nearby Downsview Airport. Materially speaking, the powder-coated stainless steel tubular sculptures are inspired by the handrails found all over the TTC network. As with those wayfinding devices, the creators hope passersby will touch, lean and sit on the pieces before rushing through the station. LEUWEBB.CA; TTC.CA
3 GREAT DANE Bjarke Ingels isn’t the only Danish starchitect with big plans for Toronto (see what we did there?). Henning Larsen Architects, which recently completed the celebrated “Wave” apartments in Denmark, has designed a 41- storey mixed-use tower with Zeidler Architecture for Ryerson University. Its plan for 202 Jarvis Street, currently a halfhectare surface parking lot, includes terracing and setbacks perfect for green roofs. Inside, the tower will house the Faculty of Science, including a gallery for science-y student work, and a “pocket” garden by local landscape architects Plant that’s sure to animate the site. HENNINGLARSEN.COM; ZEIDLER.COM; RYERSON.CA
4 THE BIG REVEAL For those of you who have been holding your breath to see industrial designer, architect and artist Ron Arad’s Safe Hands sculpture at the site of Hariri Pontarini Architects–designed One Bloor: good news. The pair of dancing metallic columns – composed of 31- metre-tall stacks of partially crushed metal tubing produced by Toronto artisan Stephen Richards – have officially been installed by Great Gulf. Reflected in the condo’s glass facade, the twisting pillars might look close to toppling over. Trust us, though: the piece is perfectly safe, and it’s highly recommended that you circle this new public treasure. RONARAD.CO.UK
5 GONDOLA FOR TWO Two local firms were shortlisted to represent Canada from May 23 to November 29 at the 2020 Venice Architecture Biennale, a biennial exhibition that attracts more than 350,000 wide-eyed visitors. Among the four Canadian firms to make the cut are Toronto’s own Ja Architecture Studio, led by Nima Javidi and Behnaz Assadi (right), and Common Accounts, the studio of Igor Bragado and Miles Gertler (left). Their proposals explore themes of lightness (in the form of wood framing, a Canadian building method) and the body (the paradox of a culture obsessed by bodies, even as they face existential threats from climate change), respectively. Two winning ideas, if you ask us. CANADACOUNCIL.CA; JASTUDIOINC.COM; COMMONACCOUNTS.ONLINE
“IN A CONSTRAINED AREA WITH SOARING REAL ESTATE PRICES, 202 JARVIS REPRESENTS THE LAST SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITY FOR RYERSON TO RELIEVE THE INTENSE SPACE PRESSURES CAUSED BY RAPID GROWTH.” – MOLLY ANTHONY, DIRECTOR OF REAL ESTATE AT RYERSON UNIVERSITY