frank gehry + david mirvish: plans for entertainment district in toronto

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Oct 02, 2012

first image
king street entertainment disctrict by frank gehry and david mirvish, toronto, canada
image © gehry international

the new plans for the future artistic and cultural revitalization of downtown toronto have just been unveiled. the entertainment district
redesign consists of three sculptural, iconic towers designed by international architect frank gehry and art mogul david mirvish, as the first
project gehry will fully construct in his hometown. updating the arts and entertainment block in the downtown area, the three buildings
will take the place of the princess of wales theater and adjacent housing blocks and will consist of two six-storey stepped podiums
topped by three residential towers ranging in height from 80 to 85 levels, with the new 60,000 square-foot mirvish art collection
space in the bottom atrium, the preservation of the royal alexandra theater, and the new OCAD university facility, covered in green
terraces that face king street.

architect frank gehry describes his experience with the project:

'it is very special for me to be able to work in toronto where I was born and to engage the neighbourhoods where I grew up.
it’s especially interesting that this project involves the arts. that is always meaningful to me. with this project, I wanted to create
buildings that were good neighbours to the surrounding buildings and that respected the rich and diverse history of the area.
I also wanted to make nice places for the people who live in and visit the buildings. david has an exciting vision, and I am
thrilled to be a part of it.'

promotional video
video © gehry international

each tower has a distinct form that relates to the surrounding site
image © gehry international

each spire resembles a series of offset stacked boxes which respond to the site's vernacular and rich long-standing history,
and will be the most significant addition to the urban skyline. the OCAD addition will house exhibition galleries, studios,
seminar rooms, and a public lecture hall, and as president dr. sara diamond states,

'We are a hub for art, design, media, research, innovation and the business of creativity, and this new facility, in the heart of a
transforming cultural district, is a perfect setting for OCAD University.'

three towers
image © gehry international

the project is currently in its initial design stages and represents more accurately the overall character of the buildings, while the actual
forms and details will evolve slightly as the process continues.

david mirvish gives us insight into his approach to the project:

'yes, we’ll have to face reality or we won’t be able to sell it but first let’s dream and make the best project we can —
then we’ll figure out how we’ll build it in the most economical way, and then we’ll find out how to put it into people’s budgets so they can buy it.'

form proposals for the three towers
image © craig white

three towers in context
image © gehry international

detail of the towers
image © gehry international

the podium at the base of the residential towers
image © gehry international

image © craig white

wire render of the new towers
image © gehry international

toronto skyline
image © gehry international

danny db

10.02.12

frank gehry (35 articles)

Please no! Toronto is already scarred from the recent condo tower along the waterfront.

anonymous says:

Oct 02, 2012

Reply
isnt it a bit of a stretch to call three giant 80 storey towers an entertainment district? how is this cultural revitalization?

anonymous says:

Oct 02, 2012

Reply
video is so bullsh8t, i like the podium, just build that and kill the towers. we already have an icon and its called the cn tower.

buildingcode says:

Oct 02, 2012

Reply
The 3 comments (2 from anonymous and 1from buildingcode) are typical of Toronto\’s generally small minded people. Sorry the world had to read those. On a different note I am sure these buildings will help Toronto have a greater appreciation for fine architecture rather than pandering to most of the cr@p that gets built now-a-days. Perhaps these buildings will be aspired to.

Crocography says:

Oct 02, 2012

Reply
do you work for frank gehry? why are they soooooo tall? perhaps these buildings will be aspired to, perhaps not.

developer overkill says:

Oct 02, 2012

Reply
come on guys, someone has to take advantage of the canadians to keep the us economy alive! even if it is building ridiculous over-sized sculptural garbage.

yes we can (in canada)! says:

Oct 02, 2012

Reply
Finally something ambitious in Toronto.

Steve says:

Oct 03, 2012

Reply
Bad project.

Vitaliy says:

Oct 04, 2012

Reply

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