WilkinsonEyre designs diamond-patterned Bay Park Centre for Toronto
By Mike Chamernik, Associate Editor
London-based architecture firm WilkinsonEyre got the nod from developers Ivanhoé Cambridge and Hines to design Bay Park Centre, a $2 billion, 3 million-sf complex in downtown Toronto.
The Globe and Mail reports that the 81 Bay Street and 141 Bay Street office towers feature a glass façade wrapped around a diagonal structural grid, consisting of 10-story-tall steel diamonds that rise off the sides of the building. On the interior, bays and lounges fill the space created by the diamond protrusions.
The complex sits above a commuter bus station and next to Union Station, the busiest transit center in Canada. A one-acre elevated green space four stories above the ground will connect the two towers and serve as a plaza for workers in the buildings. The space will have slopes and hills, gardens, and shade groves.
Two Toronto firms, architect Adamson Associates and landscape architect Public Work, are also involved in the project. The first phase of the plan, the 54-story, 1.3 million-sf 81 Bay Street tower, has been approved.
(Click photos to enlarge)
