Canderel Stoneridge Equity Group, a leading condominium developer in the GTA, announced details of Canada’s largest new condominium tower called AURA, at a media conference held recently in Toronto.
today’s announcement signified the resolution of a process between the developer, local politicians and city staff which saw the building’s design subjected to Toronto’s first-ever international architectural peer review process.“This is a signature intersection for the city that demanded a signature development,” says Canderel Stoneridge Equity Group’s President Michael La Brier. “As such, both on our own and in cooperation with Councillor Kyle Rae and the City of Toronto, we sought out independent design reviews by some of North America’s leading architects. With only minor revisions, these independent
review panels fully endorsed our project, its architecture and its magnitude.”Designed by the Canadian firm of Graziani + Corazza Architects, in August 2006, Canderel Stoneridge, initiated an independent
architectural review of AURA to support their proposed design. A review was conducted by celebrated architects Eberhard Zeidler of Zeidler Partnership Architects and René Menkès of Menkès Shooner Dagenais Letourneux Architectes, who endorsed the project. Following their positive report, the City of
Toronto then requested a further independent review and KPMB’s Bruce Kuwabara, along with American architects Jon Pickard from Pickard Chilton and Josh Chaiken of Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects joined Zeidler and Menkès for an additional review. Echoing the results of the first review, this panel again reported favourably on Canderel Stoneridge’s proposed
designs.
“The independent review was an important step and served to echo our long-held belief that this was the right architecture at the right location,” says Barry Graziani, of Graziani + Corazza Architects. “We encouraged the developer to challenge themselves, and our firm, by subjecting our vision to the most stringent evaluation possible by some of the best minds in the business. The resulting recommendations made by our esteemed colleagues, particularly in terms of the manner in which the podium meets the street, were welcomed and have made for an even better design.”
Michael La Brier says that the panel first and foremost supported Canderel Stoneridge’s belief that this was the most suitable site for Toronto’s largest condominium tower, adding that “The panel endorsed our designs and requested limited architectural changes which will undoubtedly make a great project even better. The panel’s focus was on the use and application of materials to ensure the reality of the picture. They shared our belief that there can be no shortcuts in a project of this nature.”According to La Brier, however, the greatest impact of the review process may be felt not on the project itself, but in its implications for the city, noting that the process, “Which we entered into willingly, should serve as a model for the city in all its future high-profile, high-impact projects. With a proviso to market conditions, Toronto must continue to demand more of its developers and their designs, and it must subject them to the unassailable scrutiny of an independent review panel as a basic part of doing business.”