At a time when modern architecture has become a means for cities to up their game and raise their cultural profile on the world stage, Toronto is coming into its own. Fully entrenched in a design renaissance that is dramatically changing the face and space of the city, Toronto is now a welcome playground for celebrated local talent and international star architects. While some cities can be immediately defined by a specific style, Toronto is distinguished instead by a fusion of contemporary architecture, heritage preservation and sustainable urban design. A true mosaic of architecture and culture, Toronto is a city learning to recognise and celebrate its diversity – it is a city set to rediscover itself.
Design City: Toronto showcases over thirty exemplary contemporary interior and architectural projects, both complete and underway. These range from hip restaurants and bars by Toronto-based practices to major institutional buildings completed by the likes of Will Alsop, Behnisch, Behnisch & Partners, Foster and Partners, Frank Gehry, Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg and Daniel Libeskind. Written in an engaging and lively manner, the book is beautifully illustrated with new photography by Tom Arban. It also provides a neighbourhood overview and biographies of featured designers. It should appeal as much to design savvy individuals as local and foreign archi-tourists who are as interested in discovering – or rediscovering – the dynamic evolution of this exciting city.
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Foreword by Daniel Libeskind. |
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Evergreen Commons at the Brick Works. |
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Toronto International Film Festival, Festival Centre and Tower. |
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Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. |
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Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art. |
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Young Centre for Performing Arts. |
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Toronto Waterfront Redevelopment. |
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Blowfish Restaurant + Sake Bar. |
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Jamie Kennedy Restaurant and Wine Bar. |
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Convent for the Sisterhood of St John the Divine. |
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Bahen Centre for Information Technology, University of Toronto. |
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Canada's National Ballet School. |
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Canadian National Institute for the Blind. |
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Early Learning Centre, University of Toronto. |
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Graduate House, University of Toronto. |
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Centennial HP Science and Technology Centre, Centennial College. |
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Leslie L Dan Pharmacy Building. |
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Sharp Centre for Design, Ontario College of Art & Design. |
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TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, Royal Conservatory of Music |
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Schulich School of business, York University. |
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Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research. |
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Architects and Designers. |
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Sean Stanwick is an Associate with Farrow Partnership Architects Inc. in Toronto. He is a frequent contributor to Architectural Design, and has written for numerous architectural journals worldwide. He recently co-authored Wine by Design (John Wiley & Sons, 2006). Jennifer Flores is an experienced project manager working in the IT consulting industry. With a life-long interest in architecture and interior design, she has been able to turn her critical eye and organisational talents to this book project.
Tom Arban is a Toronto-based trained architect, who turned professional architectural photographer in 2004. With a keen eye for both details and context, his work has been published in Architectural Record, Canadian Interiors, Azure and featured in a photographic exhibition as part of the City of Toronto 2005 Festival of Architecture and Design.