This project seeks to distinguish itself
from Toronto’s ubiquitous glass towers by
highlighting the terraces as a unique design
feature rather than as appendages to a large
glassy mass. Cantilevered wrap-around
terraces were utilized on the main tower to
recall the elegant luxury towers of Toronto’s
celebrated modernist era. This is an updated
version that provides both abundant outdoor
living space and shading and privacy from
adjacent buildings. Most apparent is the
intermittent upturned edge, which creates
a distinctive abstract pattern for the south
and north façades and becomes a practical
design device that provides alternating
areas of open views and privacy screening.
Behind this pattern, floor-to-ceiling glass
windows admit abundant light and views into
all apartments.
The tower breaks the idea of a standard
box by canting three sides of the plan,
thereby directing views around adjacent
towers and creating a distinctive tower
silhouette. The tower distinguishes itself by
sitting askew from the six-story podium to
create interesting pockets of outdoor space
around the amenity floor that sits at this
juncture. The separation of the tower and
the podium is furthered by the expansive
use of double-height glass, creating a transparent,
light-filled amenity space between
tower and podium. The tower shape, broad
and expansive on the north and south sides
for better views, but slender and elegant on the east and west for a slimmer presence on
the street, is capped by a sculptural sloped metal roof that is distinct in the Yonge-Eglinton
skyline.
At the podium, the terraces are again celebrated, this time with long balconies faced with
slotted perforations that stitch together the street-facing apartments across the façade. All
this is outlined by a delicate stone-clad border, framing the apartments that seemingly hover
above a continuous, clear glass storefront. Through this glassy ground floor façade, a long,
extra-wide lobby extends the entire length of the site to connect the front and rear entrances.
The continuity through the site is further enhanced by a large sloped garden, visible from
outside on Yonge Street, that greets visitors entering from the west. At the rear, the podium
extends over the driveway to become a grand porte-cochere over a double-lane drop-off.
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