STATUS
IN DESIGN
CLIENT
Westbank Project Corporation | Telus | Allied Development Corporation
TYPOLOGY
Work
SIZE M2/FT2
118,707 / 1,277,752
SHARE
Union Centre Tower located at the intersection of many of Toronto’s public transit systems at Union Station. It is connected to a major data center serving the greater Ontario area and allowing for the provision of heat energy by reuse of waste heat from the center. The project is integrated with the city grid by transforming the disused ‘Station Street’ into a pedestrian green way. The tower is accesses through an elevated walkway, as well as from the street. Both are lined with retail in a new low-rise street facing building. The building is composed of an efficient diagrid which stretches to become mega columns at ground level, allowing the building to float above the street. Beneath this hovering mass, a new concert venue is hug. The building iconic feature is the glass elevator core located on the outside of the building and transforming the building function into an urban spectacle.
REMOVE CORE TO OPEN UP STATION STREET
— In a typical tower, the central core creates a shallow ring of office space. In this instance, the typical core location and size would conflict with Station Street, if left unchanged.
REMOVE CORE TO OPEN UP STATION STREET
— The core is moved to the side to allow traffic through Station Street, which also opens up the floor.
PROGRAM STACK
— The mixed-use program places office spaces between the amenities on the top levels, and the retail/skywalk on the bottom levels.
STRUCTURAL SHELL
— An optimized lateral system is put in place according to the program demands. All elements are bound together by the diagrid structure.
ROOF CROWN PARK
— The stepped massing protects the roof park from prevailing winds.
LIFTING TOWER BASE
— The base rises above Station Street, straddling across the
right-of-way to allow the steady flow of people and vehicles to pass unobstructed underneath.
RECONNECTING PATH NETWORK
— The low-rise shopfront building runs the length of the street, ensuring pedestrian connectivity and efficient circulation.
UNION HUB
— A pixelated park of tiered terraces forms the city’s largest roof garden on the top of town.
Bjarke Ingels Thomas Christoffersen Agustin Perez-Torres Martin Voelkle Alejandra Cortes Amir Mikhaeil Andreas Buettner Emmett Walker Fabian Lorenz Florencia Kratsman Gary Polk Haochen Yu Jakob Henke Jan Leenknegt Julian Ocampo Salazar Gil Kilmo Kang Max Moriyama Melissa Jones Neha Sadruddin Nicholas Reddon Oliver Thomas Kig Veerasunthorn Sebastian Claussnitzer Terrence Chew Veronica Watson Chia-Yu Liu Lawrence-Olivier Mahadoo Chris Tron Ashton Stare Douglass Alligood Doug Stechschulte Elias Gunnar Brulin Filippo Cioffi Fiona Lu Kristoffer Negendahl Kurt Nieminen Sijia Zhou Tingting Lyu Valerie Derome-Masse Andreas Bak Ace Nguyen Tom Lasbrey Frankie Sharpe Alan Maedo Catrina Nelson Abdur-Rahman Harunah Yasamin Mayyas
COLLABORATORS
Adamson Associates Architects
Read Jones Christoffersen
The Mitchell Partnership
Mulvey & Banani International
BA Consulting Group
GUNN Consultants
Public Work
Integral Group In.
COLE Engineering
RWDI Consulting Engineers
Urban Strategies
IMIGO
Y-Visual
BIG Ideas
BIG Engineering
