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Architects: Michael Taylor Architecture + Design
- Area: 2800 ft²
- Year: 2024


As one of the host cities of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Toronto is preparing to welcome fans from across the globe. The Canadian city, the fourth largest in North America, has become a cosmopolitan center with its renowned business district and cultural venues that come alive during the summer and early fall nights. Toronto offers a beautifully diverse urban setting, with shimmering high-rises and smaller brick houses, intertwining residential and vibrant commercial areas, public parks, and even beaches. All become part of the city's striking skyline, crowned by the iconic CN Tower.
Toronto's ongoing sprawl and constant urban development are evident as new projects spread through the city, weaving themselves into existing buildings, from 19th-century landmarks such as the Gooderham Building to major contemporary works like the Aga Khan Museum. These new constructions include increasing adaptive reuse and retrofitted projects throughout the city as more efforts and incentives are provided to reduce carbon emissions.



As environmental accountability becomes embedded in design culture, the building envelope is being reconsidered not just as a protective skin, but as an active energy-producing surface. Treating solar technology as a material rather than an attachment reshapes how architecture is conceived and detailed. Color, texture, rhythm, and assembly become inseparable from performance. Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) operate within this expanded definition of materiality. By integrating solar technology into façades and rainscreens from the earliest project stages, architects can reduce redundancy, align energy goals with design intent, and rethink how envelopes are composed. Yet translating this ambition into buildable systems requires technical precision and construction intelligence.



As Canada’s most populous location, Toronto has developed into a global powerhouse, both as an economic and cultural hub. This extends to the significant museums and arts facilities across Queen City. With one of the most unique landscapes and ground conditions in the country, Toronto was built on a large ravine system running throughout its urban fabric. Today, the city’s educational, arts, and cultural buildings are thriving.

Architectural Record has unveiled its list of Top 300 U.S. Architecture Firms of 2022, ranked by revenue for architectural services performed in 2021. Gensler, Perkins&Will, and HDR continued a three-year streak leading the annual ranking of the top 300 American architecture firms, joined by AECOM, which saw one of the largest reported increases in architecture revenue, rising from eighth to fourth place.

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The incorporation of the human figure is one of the most effective tools used in architectural photography: it helps the viewer decipher the scale of work and assess its amplitude. While it successfully communicates a rough idea of the measurements of the elements in the picture, it also helps architecture become more relatable and accessible. People engage better with the built environment when it is populated, mainly because the human sense of society and community is the cornerstone of our civilization. With this in mind, we are showcasing a selection of our favorite photographs where the human figure takes center stage, enhancing our reading of architecture.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) have released the Architect’s Guide to Business Continuity, an effort to assist architecture firms with navigating adverse business conditions. The guide provides firm leaders with insights into managing staff, premises, technology, information, supply chains, stakeholders, and reputation. It aims to help firms continue providing services, generating revenue, and reducing the consequences of business interruption.

Innovation can take on so many definitions. It can revolve around finding solutions, tackling with novel ideas, or just an original way of perceiving life. It can also be a very concrete technological advancement or an intangible concept. There is no right or wrong when it comes to innovation, just different points of view.
ArchDaily had the chance to discuss the topic of Innovation with Thomas Heatherwick and Yosuke Hayano from MAD Architects, during the reSITE 2019 event in Prague, where prominent thinkers from around the world shared their ideas about the future of cities under the theme of REGENERATE. The interdisciplinary conversation, in its 8th edition, explored natural and urban revitalization, as well as the recurring problems of our times like climate change and housing affordability.
