The design by Mies Van Der Rohe’s TD Center was one of the most conspicuous arrangements of office towers in Toronto. It not only raised the standards of design throughout Canada, but also influenced every project that followed in the surrounding neighborhood. The Toronto Dominion Bank Tower was erected in 1967 costing 65 million dollars, with a height of 56 stories and over 1.3 million square feet of office space. The completion of the tower can be credited as a historic precursor of the development of Toronto’s financial district, which also launched competition and architectural rivalry among the big banks. Leading by the design of Mies Van der Rohe’s Toronto Dominion Centre in 1967, Toronto has become a city resplendent with post-modern
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Mies’s original design of the TD Center was a bold, two tower design with the Banking Pavilion, with the buildings to be artificial boxes that stood free from each other. However, by the given condition from the partnered developer, Mies had to incorporate an underground retail pedestrian mall in the concourse since the sidewalks of downtown Toronto were already overcrowded. Therefore, based on the analysis of the existing city fabric, Mies revised his original design. Ultimately, the original black tower design was expanded to five towers, with the addition of 95 Wellington Street in 1995. The network of underground walkways was expanded under the direction of city planner Matthew Lawson in the 1960s. It has a serrated and winding layout that connects the office towers of Downtown Toronto. The north most point of the path is the Toronto Coach Terminal at Dundas Street and Bay Street, while its south most point is Waterpark Place on Queens Quay, and the main axes of walkways are paralleled to Yonge Street and Bay Street. The edges of the underground shopping complex mostly correspond to the border of centralized office buildings in the downtown financial …show more content…
When discussing the structure and composition of the Toronto Dominion Center, one cannot forget to mention and compare it with the Commence Court complex which located right beside the TD Center. The first building of Commence Court was erected in 1931, known as the Commerce Court North, once known as the tallest building in Canada. The building was a 34-storey limestone tower that operated as headquarters for the Canadian Bank of Commerce. Four decades later, following the erection of the TD Tower, three other buildings were built, which formed the Commerce Court complex. The tallest building in the complex was the silver-gray head office with 57 stories, which one- upped the 56-storey TD Tower. Similar to that of TD Center, the Commerce Court also incorporated an open space inside the complex. The plaza is surrounded by the four towers in the Commerce Court complex, which features a fountain in its centre, and a three-piece set of bronze sculptures created by Derrick Stephan Hudson. The First Canadian Place was the third to follow the footsteps of the TD Center in the development of the financial district. But unlike the TD Center, it is a single free standing tower located in the corner of King and Bay Steers. The site was one of the last places in the area that was redeveloped in the late 1970s, and it is also connected to the underground walkway
Mies’s original design of the TD Center was a bold, two tower design with the Banking Pavilion, with the buildings to be artificial boxes that stood free from each other. However, by the given condition from the partnered developer, Mies had to incorporate an underground retail pedestrian mall in the concourse since the sidewalks of downtown Toronto were already overcrowded. Therefore, based on the analysis of the existing city fabric, Mies revised his original design. Ultimately, the original black tower design was expanded to five towers, with the addition of 95 Wellington Street in 1995. The network of underground walkways was expanded under the direction of city planner Matthew Lawson in the 1960s. It has a serrated and winding layout that connects the office towers of Downtown Toronto. The north most point of the path is the Toronto Coach Terminal at Dundas Street and Bay Street, while its south most point is Waterpark Place on Queens Quay, and the main axes of walkways are paralleled to Yonge Street and Bay Street. The edges of the underground shopping complex mostly correspond to the border of centralized office buildings in the downtown financial …show more content…
When discussing the structure and composition of the Toronto Dominion Center, one cannot forget to mention and compare it with the Commence Court complex which located right beside the TD Center. The first building of Commence Court was erected in 1931, known as the Commerce Court North, once known as the tallest building in Canada. The building was a 34-storey limestone tower that operated as headquarters for the Canadian Bank of Commerce. Four decades later, following the erection of the TD Tower, three other buildings were built, which formed the Commerce Court complex. The tallest building in the complex was the silver-gray head office with 57 stories, which one- upped the 56-storey TD Tower. Similar to that of TD Center, the Commerce Court also incorporated an open space inside the complex. The plaza is surrounded by the four towers in the Commerce Court complex, which features a fountain in its centre, and a three-piece set of bronze sculptures created by Derrick Stephan Hudson. The First Canadian Place was the third to follow the footsteps of the TD Center in the development of the financial district. But unlike the TD Center, it is a single free standing tower located in the corner of King and Bay Steers. The site was one of the last places in the area that was redeveloped in the late 1970s, and it is also connected to the underground walkway