Bjarke Ingels Goes BIG on King West

The Danish architect brings his singular vision to Toronto

Superstar Bjarke Ingels continues his streak of playful, alpine-inspired housing developments with this proposal for a 500 apartment complex on “King Street West”. The mass of stacked boxes resembling a pixelated mountain range features five peaks which will range in height from 15 to 17 storeys. At ground level, the development incorporates three heritage buildings, as well as a passageway and courtyard. In keeping with the nature of the project, terraces will be filled with lush greenery.

While the project has generated a great degree of international buzz since renderings were unveiled in March, BIG and developers Allied and Westbank still have a few mountains to climb before their vision becomes a reality. At a recent consultation, Toronto’s Design Review Panel voted unanimously for a redesign of Bjarke Ingels’ vision, citing concerns about the development’s density and strategy for integrating the onsite heritage buildings. big.dk

Originally published in Issue 3, 2016 as Urban Update: Go Big and Go Home.