New York studio Pei Architects has unveiled a skyscraper in Toronto, Canada, wrapped in precast concrete balconies and topped by a travertine podium.
Pei Architects – based by the 2 sons of modernist architect IM Pei – created the 56-storey residential tower for the Tower Hill Growth in Midtown Toronto.
Designed with native studio Quadrangle Architects, the 2221 Yonge Avenue Tower is 593 toes (180 meters) tall and contains a six-story podium that’s clad in travertine and is barely slanted to the tower.
Based on Russell Masters, vice chairman of Tower Hill Growth Corp, Pei Architects was tasked with making a tower that might stand out in Toronto, which he described as “the condominium mecca in North America, if not the world.”
This led to the concrete method of Pei architects.
Because the tower rises, it takes on a barely hexagonal form. White precast concrete cladding surrounds the boundaries that wrap across the construction, interspersed in elements on the large glass aspect.
“We aimed to have a good time Toronto's wealthy custom of concrete structure by making a tower that might stand out amidst the ocean of glass field flats arising within the metropolis,” Pei Architects accomplice Toh Tsun Lim instructed Dezeen.
Lim additionally famous that the concrete balustrades on the entrance of the construction are turned barely upwards to extend privateness and create a “shattering” impact from a distance.
“Our 56-storey tower continues the acclaimed legacy of Toronto's concrete skyscrapers, recapturing the daring spirit of town's historic landmarks,” continued Lim.
“It stands within the custom of iconic constructions such because the Brutalist Metropolis Corridor towers, the modernist Sheraton Middle and the legendary CN Tower.”
Along with the dialogue with the constructions of Toronto, the studio was additionally opened with a dedication to the legacy of IM Pei.
Nevertheless, he tried to distinguish the method, particularly via the “dynamic and playful sample” created by the alternation of concrete and glass within the balustrades.
“Our challenge takes inspiration from precast concrete residence towers designed by IM Pei and companions similar to Kips Bay, Society Hill and NYU College Flats,” stated Lim.
“The inherent versatility of concrete permits us to sculpt it into a particular facade sample that defines the identification of our challenge. Whereas IM Pei's authentic towers featured neat, grid-like modular home windows, our Toronto challenge takes a distinct method.”
The interiors have been created by native designer Alessandro Munge and have particulars that reference the “neo-modernist” structure of the outside.
For instance, the foyer has monumental black room dividers and an enormous stone hearth organized round seating parts in darkish shades.
“I needed to maintain the transition from outdoors to inside very fluid and seamless,” Munge stated.
The tower was accomplished in late 2022, though it was solely just lately photographed.
Different just lately accomplished skyscrapers in Toronto embrace a 250-metre-tall tower clad in “three-dimensional diamonds” by WilkinsonEyre.
Pictures is by Kerun Ip.
Venture credit:
Design architect: Pei Architects
Architect of document: Quadrangle Architects
Inside design: Alessandro Munge
Structural Engineer: Jablonsky, Ast & Companions
Mechanical/electrical: United Engineering
Panorama architect: Ferris + Associates Inc
Building Director: Toddler Building