Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Pier 27 is a four-phase multi-unit housing project on the shore of Lake Ontario, situated in the Central Harbour of the City of Toronto. Phases 1-3 are complete, and Phase 4 will be occupied by 2027. Its urban context is complex: the Toronto Waterfront encompasses a mix of culture, tourism, recreation and hospitality uses, plus extensive residential development. The site’s historical context is equally rich: from the mid-1800s until the 1950s, the Harbour was the heart of shipping and manufacturing for Canada’s largest city and for the nation.
Pier 27 by architects—Alliance, won an 2025 International Architecture Award from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.
Alliance reinterpreted the vestigial industrial architecture of the Harbour, combining the robustness of waterfront warehouses, catwalks and gantries with the radiance of sunlight on water. The architect successfully negotiated with the City to permit the construction of two high-rise towers at the intersection of Yonge and Queen’s Quay; by moving the entire development to the east and gifting to the City a 30m swath of land along the Yonge Street Slip for the creation of a new linear park connecting to the Waterfront boardwalk.
The innovative design of Pier 27 gives the project a memorable identity, while creatively engaging the challenges of adding density to a prominent waterfront site. Phases 1 and 2 comprise four articulated bar buildings, arranged on a north-south axis, each pair of bars connected by a three-storey cantilevered ‘bridge’ that evokes the gantries used to load and unload cargo on Toronto Harbour. By using the bridge component as a density carrier, the architects reduced the mass of the pier elements, resulting in an arrangement of forms that frames views of the lake from Yonge Street and gives pedestrians access the public promenade that will run along the water’s edge. To maximize lake views, the piers pivot slightly off the north-south axis on upper floors; in the bridge component, all units have views of the lake or the city. The sculptural tower of Phase 3, with its angled alternating floor slabs, marks the site’s northwest corner at Yonge Street and Queen’s Quay East, while its elongated base defines the edge of the new Yonge Street Slip public park. The angled floor slabs provide views across the waterfront and into the heart of the city, and mark the development on the water’s edge. Pier 27 demonstrates that increased density can, in fact, go hand-in-hand with the goal of Waterfront revitalization, by creating iconic architecture that enriches the public realm and raises the bar for future development on the lake.
Pier 27 is located on a former marine warehouse site, on 19th and 20th century landfill. As such, site preparation included geotechnical studies to assess soil composition and compaction, the design of caisson foundation walls (also known as a “bathtub” foundation) to prevent water intrusion from Lake Ontario, and soil remediation and excavation.
A incorporated design measures to ensure an acceptable level of resident amenity despite the long-established Redpath Sugar refining plant immediately to the east of the site. In the easternmost bar building, single-loaded corridors with clerestory windows bring daylight into the building while blocking views of the industrial site; Pier 27 air intakes are located away from Redpath exhausts; and a 20-degree rotation of the point tower creates a buffer for noise from the sugar refinery.
The architect have specified a white metal panel system that creates an impression of lightness appropriate to a waterfront building. The appearance of lightness is intensified by extensive glazing on the north and south facades and the inside faces of the bar buildings, allowing maximum penetration of light and views for residents and giving pedestrians views through the building to the water.
Architects: architects—Alliance
Design Team: Peter Clewes, Pia Heine, Sanja Janjanin
Landscape Architects: MBTW Group
General Contractor: TMG Builders Inc.
Client: Cityzen Group
Photograph ers: A-Frame Photography, James Bombales, Artem Zavazin
