The Future of the Glass Tower?
The Art Gallery of Ontario, Seminar Room 1 (Weston Family Learning Centre)
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - 6:00pm


The proposed Friedrichstrasse Office Building, a triangular glass tower, designed by Mies van der Rohe remains one of the most important structures of 20th century architecture. The design did not win the competition for Berlin’s first skyscraper, however, decades later; this style of building has come to dominate commercial and residential buildings in North America. Mies later designed the glass clad Toronto-Dominion Centre which stood as Toronto’s tallest building in the 1960’s. Currently, Toronto has 143 buildings 10 storeys or higher under construction, more than doubling the count found in New York and more than seven times the number in Shanghai. Given the prominence of this building form and the relevance to our city, this talk will explore the future of the glass tower in Toronto.


Moderator

Matthew Blackett

Publisher, Creative Director and Co-Founder, Spacing Magazine

Guests

David Pontarini

Founding Partner, Hariri Pontarini Architects

Graeme Stewart

Associate, ERA Architects | Centre for Urban Growth and Renewal

Sam Crignano

Founding Partner and President, Cityzen Development Group

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