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As mentioned in our most recent article from May 20 on the subject, the design of 'The One', an 80-storey retail and residential skyscraper which would become Canada's tallest building, is evolving. First announced in March of this year, the 329.5 metre/1,080 foot tall tower is a Mizrahi Developments project being designed by Foster + Partners of London and Core Architects of Toronto.
The previous article followed a public consultation where the latest design for the building was revealed: the original plan for a rectangular floor plate had morphed into a square plan, creating better sight lines around the building, opening up much more pedestrian space on the Yonge Street side of the building, and saving a heritage facade at 784 Yonge.
What was not part of the community briefing however was a rendering of the new design for the tower's exterior: that was simply not ready at the time. The few glimpses at the base of the tower in the updated design was missing the dramatic diagonal elements of the diagrid exoskeleton of the original design, and commenters expressed a general alarm at their loss.
Not just a surface appliqué, the exoskeleton is a structural system for the building which allows for floor plates without internal supports and therefore gives great freedom to design. In the double-height retail spaces on the lower floors of the building, the clear spans offered by the exoskeleton is seen as a prerequisite to attracting global retailers.
This week The One made its first appearance at Toronto's Design Review Panel, and two images of the still-evolving design were ready. The current thought from Foster + Partners is a hangar exoskeletal system. Seen at a distance in full, and close-up at mid-tower, the new images should be understood as the latest step in the design process and not as the final destination.
The Design Review Panel were quite enthusiastic about the building, and stressed the importance of creating a landmark building for this very important corner. The planning process will continue for this building over the next few months, and there still remains time for public comment. We will continue to follow updates to the plans.
If you want to see more of the original plans for The One, or read up on more of what is intended for the building, there are several links below that you can choose from. Our dataBase page includes all the original renderings, while the most recent stories provides the rest of the update images. The associated Forum thread link will take you to all of the discussion going on about this proposal. You can get in on the discussion there, or add your comment in the space provided on this page.
