100-Storey Tower on the Toronto Waterfront?
A free exhibition this week at Metro Hall is showcasing projects by top architecture firms that will shape Toronto’s future, including an audacious proposal from WZMH for a 100-storey waterfront tower (above). “We want to get people excited about what’s going to be happening in the city,” explains firm principal Carl Blanchaer, snapped below outside WZMH-designed RBC WaterPark Place, which includes an innovative PATH bridge connecting Air Canada Centre to the waterfront. The exhibit has time-lapse video of it being installed under the Gardiner Expressway. WZMH is also featuring its Parliament Street Data Centre, “an interesting building type you’re going to see more of."
Other firms taking part in NAIOP's Toronto of the Future event—sponsored by Oxford and Brookfield—include HOK, Kohn Pedersen Fox, Quadrangle and Zas. While all are featuring current work, “we also wanted to look at more futuristic projects,” says Carl. WZMH just won a contract to design a 140-storey tower in China. It got him thinking, “What can we do that’s in the spirit of things we see around the world, something that puts Toronto back on the map?” Inspired by China’s boldness, WZMH is putting forth the idea of a 100-storey tower in East Bayfront. If the concept stuns you, Carl says that’s the idea. “It’s standing back and thinking big about what this city could be.”
