A Place of Density: Toronto Oasis
Toronto is growing tall. Known as one of the best cities for living around the world, its booming population inevitably leads to a higher density. The city responds by erecting more and more residential and office skyscrapers. Aiming to achieve its maximum density, the city is on the verge of turning into a forest of glass boxes, a multiply of simple extrusion of property lines.
Can architects, through the force of designing urban artifacts, break the city’s predefined Cartesian grid and create unique and organic conditions? Can we still learn from the creations of nature when we are situated in the center of a metropolis? And can we achieve the desired density while still capturing the grace and flow of architecture?
Toronto Oasis answered by slicing open the dense, rigid urban fabric, and carefully sculpting itself into a variety of natural conditions. One enters through a gorge between two skyscrapers, descends down to a deep valley, steps up through a gentle hill, and finally ascends to the top of the mountains, which are interconnected by light drawbridges.
Severe winter weather results in a lack of green spaces in Toronto. However, Torontonians are still passionate about planting and flowers. The project imagines a vertical green park which also accommodates the production and transaction of a large variety of plants. Like the flower market in Amsterdam, it is both a commercial venue and a public space.
The conventional method of the floral industry contains three major components: the grower, the wholesaler and the retailer. The building’s great volume creates an opportunity for it to encompass all three into one space, and omit the cost of intermediaries and transportation. The standard procedure of floral industry thus becomes an opportunity to promote floriculture to a greater range of customers, and provide the neighborhood with family-friendly activities.
