Tall & Urban News

A new supertall skyscraper in Toronto will be significantly shorter than the 553-meter-tall CN Tower once complete, but still greatly change the city's skyline.

Hariri Pontarini Architects has revealed designs for a tower just over 1,007 feet (307 meters) tall. The 95-story project—dubbed SkyTower—will be part of a three-tower luxury development called Pinnacle One Yonge.

A thin, glass skyscraper protected by a crystal-like, faceted exoskeleton, Sky Tower will anchor the 4.4-million-square-foot (408,773-square-meter) waterfront site imagined by Canadian developer Pinnacle International. Hariri Pontarini conceived the masterplan and designed the trio of high-rise buildings that will define the lot. The first tower, the 65-story Prestige, is currently under construction, while SkyTower, which was only just released to the public, will feature 800 units and will begin its build-out soon.

According to the architects, the mega-project is meant to “densify and enhance the urban streetscape.” One Yonge will be connected to a revamped public transit system and include improved pedestrian and cycling access via widened sidewalks, a 2.5-acre (1-hectare) public park, and an inner courtyard set between the three buildings.

At the base of SkyTower, The Prestige, and the future 80-story structure slated for the northern corner of the site, there will also be multi-level podiums connected by glass atria, wide walkways, and international gathering spaces, per Hariri Pontarini. These areas will hold 160,000 square feet (14,864 square meters) of retail, a 50,000-square-foot (4,645-square-meter) community center, and a 250-room hotel. Across all of the towers, One Yonge will house over 2,200 condominiums and 1.5 million square feet (139,354 square meters) of office space.

While SkyTower is vying for the title of Canada’s tallest residential complex, other projects set for various sites throughout the city are also gunning for major accolades. For example, Sidewalk Labs recently unveiled a digital model of what could become the world’s tallest tower made of timber. The company’s controversial Quayside development is supposed to be a high-tech neighborhood full of high-design, sustainable structures by firms like Snøhetta, Gensler, 3XN, Heatherwick Studios, and Michael Green Architecture, among others.

For more on this story go to The Architect's Newspaper.