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Last week, ULI hosted a Fireside Chat, ‘How can tall buildings be good neighbours?’ between internationally acclaimed Chicago architect Jeanne Gang and Alex Bozikovic, The Globe and Mail’s Architecture critic and an UrbanToronto Forum contributor. Known for her iconic towers and material research and experimentation, the Studio Gang founder and leader spoke to members of the architecture and design community about the studio’s people-centred, analytical approach to designing buildings that enhance social connections, contribute to the public realm, and offer new models of sustainability. Gang presented recent tower projects, with an emphasis on building articulation and how buildings hit the ground. In the mix was One Delisle – the Studio’s first project in Canada – at the southwest corner of Yonge and Delisle streets in Toronto.
Towers add a lot more than just density. At her Mira residential tower (2020) in San Francisco, Gang convinced the City to permit an additional 100-ft of height by appealing to the city’s housing crunch and incorporating a larger percentage of affordable housing. The twisting 39-storey tower is flanked by 4- and 8-storey wings, which knit the low-rise elements into the city block plan with a throughway, laneway, and a raised courtyard. The complex’s amenities are shared; “there is no ‘poor door'” said Gang, noting that the building doesn't discriminate between who has affordable or expensive apartments. There’s no backside to the development either — services are not fully screened — allowing the four sides of the building to be active. Bozikovic praised the idea, with a nudge to the architects and developers in the room.
The St Regis is a soaring new addition along the Chicago River, with a new public access to the water’s edge. Between the river and the building is a barrier: an elevated highway and other heavy infrastructure. Gang defined the project’s key challenge as, how to design the landing of this 101-storey skyscraper and connect it to the river and park? The building comprises three sleek interlocking towers of differing heights; the outer towers comprise the cores, the centre one is suspended two floors above from the ground plane. The resulting opening creates a passage for cars and pedestrians between the Riverwalk and the downtown community. “It's very porous”, said Gang. “It's about making connections at multiple levels.”
Dealing with urban design elements is second nature to Gang. Since starting her career in Europe, she works at the larger scale, not just the plot. “I automatically zoom out and look at the bigger picture,” says Gang. “How does it fit into the city? What is the dialogue with other buildings around it?" It’s a discussion she thinks should be required early in every project. Every site presents its own unique set of challenges, opportunities. You don’t start from scratch. “I'm not into tabula rasa,” says Gang. “Start with what's there, that's the motto that we have. What is there worth building upon, continuing, and extrapolating from?”
That’s the kind of thinking that informed Solar Carve (2019) in NYC. Nestled among a cluster of buildings hugging the High Line, the office building’s thoughtful form was sculpted, or carved, using incident angles of the sun’s rays. This enabled more sunlight and fresh air to reach the elevated park than its allowable envelope (as of right) would have. The approach illustrates how site-specific environmental conditions and updating zoning codes can help new buildings to improve dense sites and protect public space. The carved sections are articulated with a faceted, almost diamond-like curtainwall glazing system. “It was really about externalities as opposed to, what is the object… But it has to be a beautiful object also. It's a win-win.” Take note, Toronto.
Most familiar to attendees was Gang’s Toronto project, One Delisle, now in the early stages of construction. The 44-storey cylindrical tower’s textured facade comprises a series of eight-storey elements, which nest together as they spiral up the building. Balconies are set within these elements, with terraces set atop them. Inspired by hooded German beach chairs, Strandkorb, that can be adapted to protect from wind or open up, Gang had asked “How can you modify your building for climate and comfort on the outside, and make different types of exterior space?” The multi-faceted design invests in the idea of balcony and terrace life: it considers sightlines across to neighbours, but also modifies the climate so Toronto residents can maximize their time outdoors, well into the shoulder seasons.
Toronto's typically prescribed podium + tower typology can be a sticking point. “We originally wanted to make the tower ground all the way down (because that will give the least shadow), and taller and circular to make the shadow very skinny.” Instead, after dialogue with the City, the tower integrates into the site’s existing low-rise building, transitioning between the square footprint to circular as it rises. “Keeping the podium can be a good thing because that's where you make the relationships between old and new, that's where you feel the scale of the city.” Again, Gang starts with what’s there. Anchoring the corner of a full-block development, the building is set back further than what was required, in order to widen the sidewalks, “making it more urban than it was before.”
Questions from the audience centred around pedestrian and resident experience of, in, and around high-rises.
An audience member queried how wind modelling figured into the design process, noting that tall building developments in Toronto (particularly at corners) have created uncomfortable conditions even on non-windy days. Gang noted ever-increasing sophisticated technology to understand wind and comfort, stressing the importance of conducting wind tunnel studies. “You have to look at it early, and then modify the design to meet the numbers. The canopy low down will also help, as it blocks wind from hanging the building and rushing down.”
Asked by another: “Beyond the wind/sun studies, what is the process for consulting with people who live in high rises? What’s it like to be on a patio on the 50th floor?” Gang remarked that post-occupancy studies are not frequently conducted in the profession. It’s a missed opportunity because, said Gang, “we won't get better unless we learn from people that live there .. Sometimes it's hard to get [developers] to try something new... But how do we introduce new things and find out if they work or not?”
In Gang’s view, “I feel lucky that I've been working with developers and clients that have the city first in mind, and yes, they want it to be taller because that gives more return on the land. But the discussions about public realm are always first and foremost.” And cities are different. In Amsterdam, for example, Studio Gang holds high level architecture and local history talks with strong urban design groups which help inform their work, resulting in better outcomes for the neighbourhood. The Studio also holds youth leadership design charettes, which Gang says, “not only improves the experience for building’s future residents but brings new people into the design profession that wouldn't have had access before.”
UrbanToronto will continue to follow updates for this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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