King Toronto Residences
Toronto, Canada
Client
Westbank Project Corporation | Allied Properties REIT
Typology
Residential
Size m2/ft2
81,843 / 880,950
Status
In Construction
"With King Toronto, we wanted to find an alternative to the tower and podium you see a lot of in Toronto and revisit some of Safdie’s revolutionary ideas, but rather than a utopian experiment on an island, have it nested into the heart of the city. It would be strange if one of the most diverse cities in the world had the most homogenous architecture."Bjarke Ingels - Founder & Creative Director, BIG
Courtyard Connector — A central courtyard, shaped by the site's perimeter, connects a neighborhood network of pedestrian pathways.
Heritage Buildings — Existing heritage buildings are preserved as volumes within the complex. They are not merely conserved but reclaim a central role in the public realm within the development.
Extrusion — The grid surrounding the courtyard is extruded upwards and rotated 45 degrees to open views and increase sunlight exposure for interior spaces.
Program — Areas for retail and boutique office space correspond with the height of the heritage buildings, while residential units occupy the peaks and valleys above.
Outdoor Living — Each residential unit has direct access to outdoor space. The topography of the peaks and valleys provides terraces for larger units while others have balconies stacked along the building's perimeter.
Peaks and Valleys — The roof surface is manipulated to form peaks and valleys that allow sunlight into the courtyard, organizing the housing into separate volumes. The undulating design allows light to reach King Street all year round.
Productive Typography — Private terraces are landscaped to provide tenants with open green space typically reserved for suburban environments. Shared terraces provide communal areas and the potential for urban farming.
"At the core of our design we hoped to answer the question, how can architecture create community? We thought of this project as a way to demonstrate how architecture can meet some of society’s challenges."Ian Gillespie - Founder, Westbank
section
elevation
Partner in Charge
Bjarke Ingels
Thomas Christoffersen
Project Manager
Ryan Harvey
Project Designer
Lorenz Krisai
Project Architect
Andrea Zalewski
Project Leader, Interiors
Francesca Portesine
Project Manager, BIM
Oliver Thomas
Project Team
Beat Schenk
Agustin Perez-Torres
Jakob Lange
Agla Egilsdottir
Alejandra Cortes
Alvaro Velosa
Andreas Buettner
Corliss Ng
Cristina Medina-Gonzalez
Fabian Lorenz
Florencia Kratsman
Jan Leenknegt
Jenna Dezinski
Joseph Kuhn
Julian Ocampo Salazar
Kayeon Lee
Linqi Dong
Margaret Tyrpa
Neha Sadruddin
Rita Sio
Sang Ha Jung
Seung Ho Shin
Shu Zhao
Simon Scheller
Siva Sepehry Nejad
Sue Biolsi
Tara Abedinitafreshi
Terrence Chew
Thomas Smith
Tracy Sodder
Ziyu Guo
Chia-Yu Liu
Bryan Hardin
Casey Tucker
Chris Tron
Deb Campbell
Elnaz Rafati
Gabriel Jewell-Vitale
Giulia Figueiredo Chagas
Janie Green
Aaron Mark
Alan Tansey
Amina Blacksher
Breno Felisbino da Silveira
Brian Rome
Bryan Maddock
Casimir Esbach
Chengjie Jacob Li
Christopher White
Cristian Lera Silva
Daniel Kidd
Douglass Alligood
Edda Steingrimsdottir
Evan Saarinen
Ibrahim Salman
Iris Van der Heide
Jaemin Seo
James Babin
Jin Park
John Hilmes
Joshua Burns
Juan David Ramirez
Ku Hun Chung
Lucio Santos
Margaret Kim
Mateusz Wieckowski-Gawron
Ovidiu Munteanu
Phawin Siripong
Samantha Okolita
Tiago Sá
Yuanxun Xia
Ava Kim
Benjamin Caldwell
Ian Gu
Josiah Poland
Karolina Bouros
Luke Lu
Megan Ng
Norain Chang
Pabi Lee
Juan Diego Perez Diez
Alan Maedo
M. Omer Khan
BIG Ideas
Tore Banke
Bart Ramakers
Kristoffer Negendahl
Collaborators
Diamond and Schmitt Architects
BA Group
ERA Architects Inc.
Gladki Planning Associates
Greenberg Consultants Inc.
Gunn Consultants
Reinbold Engineering Group
LMDG
MGM Consulting Inc.
Nemetz & Associates
Public Work
Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd.
BIG Ideas