frank gehry's latest plan for king st. development in toronto

frank gehry’s latest plan for king st. development in torontoimage courtesy of gehry international inc.

in october 2012, it was announced that frank gehry would be returning ‘home’, four years after the completion of his first toronto project which saw the canadian born architect complete a renovation for the city’s art gallery of ontario. gehry has now entered a partnership with local art collector david mirvish–who owns and operates a number of toronto’s major performance centers–to redevelop much of the mirvish family’s properties in toronto’s entertainment district along king street west, including the historic princess of wales theater and some warehouses. the project will see the establishment of three 80+ storey skyscrapers along the iconic strip between john and simcoe streets. 

the base of each tower sees a wooden beam structure which speaks to the industrial buildings they will have replacedimage courtesy of gehry international inc.

since the initial presentation, the design of the towers has evolved with gehry having recently unveiled the latest plans for the buildings which are now more indicative of his signature style. the façades are expressed through collages of fragmented organic shapes, creating curving surfaces which appear almost like ribbons of fabric folding into one another, draping over a framework of wooden beams located at their bases–these industrial structures referencing the commercial buildings which they would ultimately replace. the three volumes will house more than 2,500 residential units, along with commercial and office spaces, a large gallery for the mirvish’s extensive art collection, and will be the site of OCADU’s new campus.

the estimated timeline for completion is said to be 10 years. see more coverage of the frank gehry and david mirvish development on designboom here.

the new design sees more of the architect’s style coming through with façades composed of fragmented organic shapesimage courtesy of gehry international inc.

image courtesy of gehry international inc.

the site is situated along toronto’s iconic king st. strip in the heart of the city’s entertainment districtimage courtesy of gehry international inc.

model rendering of the three towers in the context of the siteimage courtesy of gehry international inc.

image courtesy of gehry international inc.