of
The first renderings of a mixed-use Foster + Partners and RAW Design tower at the northeast corner of Bay and Scollard Streets in Toronto, Canada have emerged. The project features a distinctive, modernist-inspired design with punched windows, which contrasts with many of Toronto's all-glass-and-steel towers.
The ultra-slim 158-metre mixed-use tower will incorporate 112 residential units, with retail-commercial space at ground level, and a privately owned publicly-accessible open space (PoPS) with café-style seating and bicycle parking at the northeast corner of Bay and Scollard.
The development plan also includes green roof coverage of 60%, an outdoor terrace amenity space, 132 spaces of automobile parking, as well as a range of as-of-yet unspecified interior amenities. There will be drop-off access to the north of the public space on Bay Street with garage access and servicing to the east of the site. The plan includes landscaping by Boston-based Stoss Landscape Urbanism.
The heritage properties that currently occupy the northeast corner of the site would be restored under plans by ERA Architects and relocated to the east of their current location, allowing for a new public space at the intersection.
As the plan has yet to have its first public consultation, it is possible that the design presented will evolve. In particular, the close proximity to neighbouring Jesse Ketchum Public School – located to the northwest of the site – may prove to be a point of contention, with the accommodation of schools alongside high-rises requiring a highly sensitive design. Shadow studies for the project, however, indicate that care has already been taken to tailor the building's footprint to minimise new shadowing of the school's outdoor areas.
Nick Myall
News Editor