Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron with Toronto-based BDP Quadrangle together with planners Urban Strategies, 1200 Bay Street is an 87-story, mixed-use proposal rising to a height of 326.5 meters for Dutch real estate development companies Kroonenberg Group and ProWinko.
“This is an iconic block in the neighbourhood and Toronto at large. We have an opportunity to deliver a project that sets a new benchmark for design and strives to give something back to the city,” states Lesley Bamberger, owner of Kroonenberg Groep.
The toothpick-thin, mixed-use tower, located at the northwest corner of Bay and Bloor, has a total of 332 units proposed across 71 floors of residences, with 13 floors of office space and two floors of retail also proposed.
With a 3:1 ratio in the north-south orientation, a simple extrusion of the site footprint rises 87 storys.
A linear core at the western façade is proposed, which maximizes the usable area of the floorplate, the aspect over Bay Street to the east, and simultaneously provides privacy from any adjacent development to the west.
The tower’s bottom sixteen floors will replace the existing retail, office, and technical functions.
A private amenities level will separate these functions from the condominiums above, and a large restaurant, sky lounge, and rentable spaces occupy the highest three floors of the building.
A restaurant is planned for the top floor.
The proposal is a layered expression of the vertical structural elements, interior glazing (thermal envelope), exterior timber roller shades, and an outer layer of transparent, open-jointed glass.
The effect is a building, which at times appears transparent and expressive –revealing the scale and activity within the building; and at other times, the reflective outer layer of glass emphasizes its dramatic proportion.
Providing diversity in the proposed program is an important component of the building’s approach to sustainability and enhancing the vibrancy of the local community.
The building will feature operable windows to aid passive ventilation, while wooden shutters will be used to help control the heat and light inside.
At street level, residents enter a triple-height lobby from Bloor Street and take one of four dedicated lifts to their condo level.
Residences will range from one bedroom, to multi-level penthouses, totalling 332 condominium units spread over 64 floors.
Project: 1200 Bay Street
Architects: Herzog & de Meuron Architekten
Design Team: Michael Bekker, Jos Reinders, Bruno de Almeida, Caleb Bentley, Moragh Diels, David Gonçalves Monteiro, Maria Vega Lopez, and Nik Vandewyngaerde
Executive Architects: BDP Quadrangle Architects Limited
Urban Planners: Urban Strategies Inc.
Developers: ProWinko and Kroonenberg Group
