The project was initiated by theater producer and art dealer David Mirvish, who plans to place his collection of abstract art in the new complex.
The location for the construction is the central part of the city, the so-called Entertainment District, which runs along King Street. There are plans to build three 80-85-storey condominiums there, located on a six-storey stepped “base”.
Most of this base will house the museum of the collection of David and Audrey Mirvish with an area of 5.6 thousand m2. The entrance there will be free. In a smaller area (2,300 m2), the Ontario College of Art and Design will open its Community Education Center for Visual Arts, Curatorial Research and Art History. It will include showrooms, workshops, seminar rooms and a public lecture hall.
Gehry's project drew criticism due to the "sloppy" looking layouts of the new buildings. Frank Gehry, in response, stressed that he is still only at the initial stage of work, and for each of its buildings about 50 models are usually made, marking different stages of design.
Almost at the same time, the developer Oxford Properties Group presented a large-scale project for the reconstruction of the Metro-Toronto Convention Center according to the masterplan by Norman Foster. It is planned not only to rebuild this building, but also to erect nearby residential and office towers, as well as twin hotel buildings, skyscrapers, combined with a large casino and a shopping center. All structures will be connected by a park with an area of 2.23 hectares. The total area of the complex will be 683 thousand m2.
N. F.
