King Street West | BIG-Bjarke Ingels
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
King Street West is set in a transitional area of Toronto. From the tall towers of the Central Business District to the East, to the low-rise neighborhoods in the Northwest, the skyline is a mark of the city’s progress. Located at the meeting point of three 20th century neighborhood parks, BIG, Westbank and Allied propose a mixed use development with a public plaza that will create a new center for the community while connecting the various pedestrian pathways that crisscross the area.
KING Toronto. Image Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group
The building is organized as a traditional perimeter block with a public plaza in the center. The plaza itself is defined by two distinct atmospheres: a lushly landscaped forest paired next to an urban, hardscaped court. The resulting balance between these perceived opposites is a reflection of Toronto’s current state of rapid redevelopment: the union of old and new, an open community atmosphere in an intimate setting, calming green scenery within a bustling urban context.
KING Toronto. Image Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group
Surrounding the plaza, King Street West rises as sets of pixels extruded upwards to create space for housing, retail and boutique offices—avoiding the footprints of heritage buildings that already exist on the site.
Each pixel is set at the size of a room; rotated 45 degrees from the street grid to increase exposure to light and air. At the base, pixels lift to provide 24/7 access across the courtyard, while the roof surface is manipulated to allow sunlight to penetrate the entire building, creating space for green terraces attached to each unit.
KING Toronto. Image Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group
The resulting undulating façade is a connective topography—allowing increased circulation through the neighborhood while creating an abundance of green space normally reserved for the suburbs.
“With King Street West, we wanted to find an alternative to the tower and podium you see a lot of in Toronto and revisit some of Safdie’s revolutionary ideas, but rather than a utopian experiment on an island, have it nested into the heart of the city. It would be strange if one of the most diverse cities in the world had the most homogenous architecture.” Bjarke Ingels, Founding Partner, BIG.
KING Toronto. Image Courtesy of Bjarke Ingels Group
Project Info:
Architects: BIG-Bjarke Ingels
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Code: KING
Date: 23/02/2016
Program: Housing
Status: In Progress
Size in m2: 67355
Project type: Commission
Client: Westbank Projects Corp., Allied Development Corp.
Collaborators: Diamond Schmitt Architects, BA Group, BIG IDEAS, ERA Architects, Gladki Planning Consultants, Greenberg Consultants, Gunn Consultants, Hidi Group, LMDG, MGM Group, Nemetz & Associates, Public Work, Read Jones Christoffersen Ltd.
Project Team:
Partners in Charge: Bjarke Ingels, Thomas Christoffersen
Project Manager: Christopher White
Project Architect: Lucio Santos
Project Designer: Bryan Maddock
Team: Aaron Mark, Alan Tansey, Alvaro Velosa, Andreas Buettner, John Hilmes, Juan David Ramirez, Megan Ng, Ovidiu Munteanu, Terrence Chew
Project Leaders, Concept Design: Daniel Kidd, Tiago Sá
Team, Concept Design: Alvaro Velosa, Brian Rome, Chris Tron, Christian Lera, Ibrahim Salman, John Hilmes, Jakob Lange, Terrence Chew, Tore Banke
