Toronto Picasso Condos | 128.62m | 39s | Mattamy Homes | Teeple Architects

I stayed at the brand new Gansvoort in South Beach this year. It had what is probably one of the nicest rooftop pool/lounge areas I've ever seen. This will make an amazing addition to the area.
 
just googling around, here's another press release regarding this project, this is from contractmagazine.com.....

Gansevoort Brand Extends to Toronto
Sept 11, 2008

Following in the footsteps of its urban resorts in New York and South Beach, Gansevoort Hotel Group (GHG) has teamed up with one of Toronto's leading developers, TAS DesignBuild, to develop an iconic hotel in Toronto's historic entertainment and fashion district. It is scheduled to open in 2011 as the city's first LEED-certified hotel/residence.

The project's striking asymmetrical structure will showcase an innovative stepping form highlighted by vertical hanging gardens, projecting a sense of space and movement. Teeple Architects is credited with the building's original design.

"Toronto is fast emerging on the world's radar as a dynamic international city with a spirited 24/7 vibe. We are delighted to extend the Gansevoort brand to a destination with not only a robust real estate environment but also a genuine commitment to the environment," says GHG principal Michael Achenbaum.

Gansevoort Toronto marks the first time the Gansevoort approach to lifestyle and design meets sustainability. New buildings, created inside and out with a focus on environmental responsibility, are still considered quite rare but as consumers become increasingly aware of their carbon footprint, projects such as this one – that go well beyond 'green' measures like bamboo floors – are poised to become the standard-bearers for a new generation of eco-friendly projects.

"Buildings are known to take up green space," says Mazyar Mortazavi, a principal of TAS DesignBuild. "This building replaces the green space it uses by creating individual gardens and hanging them in a vertical fashion."

The hotel/residence will feature a range of integrated sustainable functions, including building automation (systems tied to computer monitors to intelligently draw less power); ERV systems (energy recovery ventilators designed to reclaim energy before it is discharged); HRV systems (heat recovery systems). The building's low-impact design features a unique sequence of units (known as geometric articulation) providing shade and decreasing cooling costs as well as a lighter-colored exterior, which reflects heat and decreases the building's heat gain, requiring less energy to cool.
 
From NRU, Sept. 12, 08

RISING ABOVE RICHMOND

Hotel-condo in the works

Richmond Street could be home to a unique building, rising from the rubble of the Joker nightclub, across from the Scotiabank Theatre.

American boutique hotel company Gansevoort has teamed up with TAS Design Build and Teeple Architects to develop the site with an eco-minded hotel/residence building, “which is quite different from the standard Toronto condominium,†according to architect Stephen Teeple.

The proposed building will achieve a minimum LEED-silver accreditation, though a higher rating is not out of the question.

Key to the LEED rating is the insulation of the building, which will significantly reduce the amount of energy required to heat and cool the rooms, Teeple explained.

“The way we start is with the correct percentage of glass to solid wall. For a silver building the maximum is about 60 per cent glazed area and 40 per cent solid, which makes it different then a lot of those all-glass towers [where] you’re fighting an uphill battle to make it an energy efficient building.â€

Describing the current development standard as “basically a box skinned with the cheapest skin imaginable,†Teeple said that the Gansevoort project would be “heavily insulated.â€

Teeple wants the project to stand out against other high rises in the city, designing a building with an emphasis on plants and greenery, using a series of terraces that will step back from the podium.

Teeple believes the building relates to both the immediate area—where it will tower over other buildings along Richmond—and the broader neighbourhood—which includes a high-rise apartment building north on Beverley Street and the Holiday Inn and under-construction Festival Tower on Widmer Street.

“The way that the volumes relate to Beverley and to Widmer will fix it in a bigger urban scale, while the podium base will attach it to Richmond Street quite nicely,†Teeple said. “It’s relating to the city at two scales: a more distant scale as one of the significant buildings in the city and then it has a distinct base that makes it a nice part of Richmond Street as well.â€

“It’s got a different spirit. The Gansevoort is a different hotel.â€

The project, which would be Gansevoort’s fourth hotel with sites in New York City and Miami Beach, include restaurants and a bar. A rezoning application for the site is currently being processed by city staff.

One of the biggest challenges said Teeple, is “making sure that people understand the value of these things and living in something very special.â€

“It’s special not only because it’s very sculptural and relates to urban conditions beyond itself, it’s better environmentally so getting people to buy in and see that as value is a challenge.â€

310richmond.jpg
 
Has this been approved by the city?
 
I love this project! those renderings make me really excited to see it go up (they had better not change it..) and The Gansevoort hotel is a perfect fit for this building, I am steps away form the original Gansevoort hotel in the Meat Packing district, and they always have lines to get up to the rooftop patio. I am hoping that this Toronto Hotel has the same atmosphere and restaurants/patios!
 
^Thanks for the link. It looks like the rezoning application will take a while. The report stated the recommendation report is scheduled for first or second quarter of 2009, but with other parallel studies and plans that are also ongoing, I wonder if the developer will get their rezoning by that time.

Love the rendering with the green roofs and all.
 
digs19re1big.jpg


Putting a modern stamp on Richmond Street

TAS DesignBuild, having just launched the quirky Giraffe condos, plans another striking addition to the city's architectural menagerie

DEREK RAYMAKER
From Friday's Globe and Mail
September 19, 2008 at 12:00 AM EDT


Every conceivable pod of downtown Toronto has spawned a condominium component that roughly fits the personality of its location.

Bay Street and Yorkville host a multitude of super-luxury, multimillion-dollar suites; the harbourfront is a good bet for those looking to slow down and enjoy the lake, and Yonge Street from King to Eglinton is designed to appeal to young professionals looking for affordability and a nearby subway stop.

Richmond Street was admitted a little late to the emerging condominium boom largely because of too tight residential zoning restrictions that were only lifted in the 1990s, when it became clear that the neighbourhood's days as Canada's seamstress were very much over. At that point, the area was in danger of turning into a cluster of derelict factories.

Only a few large-scale condominiums have appeared on Richmond Street West, and most do reflect the sensibility of the people who call it home. In keeping with the bright lights and bustle of Queen Street to the north and the theatre district to the south, the developments that have taken root have pushed the envelope of architecture and design to appeal to the creative class that feeds off the media, retail and technology economy within its radius.

They include the District Lofts a few steps east of Spadina Avenue, riffing on the industrial heritage with two concrete towers connected by steel catwalks. Two blocks west, there's the Cityscape Terrace Lofts; commanding a city block, the six-storey building was finished in 1999.

Interestingly, most of the redevelopment in this area has been on the commercial/retail front since then. The most notable achievement, if you really want to call it that, is the Scotiabank Theatre at John Street, a massive neon cube of cinemas, restaurants and a Chapters bookstore.

TAS DesignBuild is in the preliminary stages of putting its signature touch on Richmond Street with a planned 35-storey condominium-hotel (a rezoning application to allow it is currently pending). Like all of its high-rises, the as-yet-unnamed project is way ahead of the curve in terms of combining functionality with iconic design.

"I really see that neighbourhood at the crux of change," says Mazyar Mortazavi, principal of TAS DesignBuild. "It's a transitional area between the financial district and the arts and creative area around Queen Street."

The Festival Centre condominium and entertainment complex three blocks south on King Street is also expected to help usher in a more polished era of condominium living, he adds.

Similar to its just-launched Giraffe high-rise in Toronto's west end, the Richmond Street project will feature an asymmetric array of balconies and terraces poking out from the glass. The architect, Stephen Teeple, who is also overseeing Giraffe, is aiming for a silver certification in under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system by focusing on upgraded insulation and more efficient use of windows to control temperature.

Half of the building will be condominiums while the other half will be a boutique hotel by Gansevoort Hotel Group, which has carved out a niche as a sought-after purveyor of trendy uber modernist lodgings in Manhattan and Miami Beach.

"Gansevoort represents part of an attitude that embraces change," Mr. Mortazavi says. "They went into [Manhattan's] meat-packing district when it was not a very nice place to be," he adds, noting that today it is one of the most iconic focal points of New York's social and cultural milieu.

"They have been able to create these great social environments with their rooftop pools and lounges. They are like urban resorts."
 
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