Mississauga Monroe

Torontonians have long made fun of the sprawling Atlanta-like mess to the west, known as Mississauga. This vast suburb is one of the largest cities in Canada but never had a centre, unless you count a huge shopping mall. However, time and traffic have led to densification, and now that shopping centre is being ringed with tall towers. Soon an actual sidewalk might appear, you never know.

In any case, credit to Cityzen Development for running a design contest for their next tower. The wiunner has been announced, and it truly is a surprise. The selected design (by an obscure Chinese firm I can't even find on the net) is a true state-of-the-art condo, with all of the twists and turns made possible by modern construction.

The next challenge: Let's see how close the final product ends up looking like these renderings. Believe me, it is very difficult to get architecture and condos to work together. The desire for a bigger walk-in closet or better living room furniture arrangement can quickly destroy the architectural essence of a building through an endless series of small alterations. Will that happen here?

Hiatus

Sorry for being away for so long. Renovating your own apartment (actual photo on right) can do that to a person. In any case, it was pleasing to see a few thoughtful comments upon my return, and I'm not talking about the bot-generated ones. I will try to be more regular about posting in the future.

To start with, some very surprising news about Alsop. This is being spun different ways, and I'm not quite sure what to make of it. His work in Toronto is about to grow more numerous and it should be very interesting to see if he can transform into a condo starchitect. Toronto is certainly a good lab for that, with its many hordes of condos constantly popping out of the ground.

Speaking of condo starchitects, add another two to the list. Richard Rogers and Herzog / de Meuron just, as the Who liked to say, sold out. That said, their projects may be the best New York condo developments yet with big names attached.