Blooming flower-shaped condo tower is unlike anything else in Toronto
The frenzied Toronto condo boom of the 2010s has given way to a burst bubble market in the 2020s, but the cycle somehow lasted long enough for its most ambitious visions to emerge unscathed.
It may not be the tallest new tower in town, but the blooming flower aesthetic of the One Delisle project rising near Yonge and St. Clair sets it far apart from anything else in Toronto.
And, in a bittersweet turn, its daring exterior is the only part of this ultra-luxury project that most of us will ever get to see.
The 44-storey condominium development from Slate Asset Management and Globizen Group, known as One Delisle, eschews the soulless glass tower approach Toronto has developed an unfortunate reputation for.
Instead, the project boasts a wildly un-box-like geometric statement from Chicago-based architects Studio Gang, marking the world-renowned firm's first Canadian commission.
Under construction since mid-2022, the building crossed a key construction milestone this past spring, when concrete forming reached the 44th and final residential floor.
In a hollowed-out but still entirely unaffordable condo market, it's at least a nice consolation prize when a building goes above and beyond to assert itself as a local landmark. Most of us won't be buying a condo at One Delisle any time soon, but for a building many will see during their day-to-day lives, there is some value in a condo tower pushing the design envelope.
And, luckily for the masses (and less so for those who bought pre-construction condos with now-dwindling value) these landmark developments are now popping up all over the city.
In addition to skyline-defining 'supertall' towers like One Bloor West, the Pinnacle SkyTower, Concord Sky, and Forma, Toronto is also witnessing a surge in top-tier designs from world-class architects, like the mountain-range-shaped KING Toronto under construction on King Street West.
@jacobcotephoto via @Globizen
