A high level of design quality was required to achieve the rezoning of this site from a previously approved 18 storey height to a 41 storey luxury hotel and residential building. Essential to the success of the project is the preservation and adaptive re-use of a building on the site that was originally constructed as a single family home. The restored building provides the front entrance to the hotel while maintaining a vestige of the streetscape that gives the district its unique character. New wings on either side of the heritage facade mimic the scale and proportions of the historical centerpiece and enclose a hotel and residential drop-off on the north side and the entrance to the hotel bar and restaurant on the south side. Above the masonry base, state-of-the-art glass curtain wall cladding defines the hotel function rooms: a restaurant on the second floor and meeting rooms on the third floor. A screen of vertical fins visually unifies the hotel guestroom floors with the residential floors above. The screen transforms into a support system for a glass windscreen that shields the rooftop lounge and outdoor pool. Bisha sets a new standard for boutique hotels in Toronto and provides an environment of unparalleled quality in pursuit of this goal.
Photography by: Richard Seck