Mirvish+Gehry facts for kids

Mirvish+Gehry is a planned two-tower mixed-use building complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The towers were designed by Frank Gehry in partnership with David Mirvish. The project is located on King Street West at Duncan Street in Toronto's Entertainment District.

The two towers are 91 and 81 floors respectively. When completed, the towers will be among the tallest skyscrapers in Toronto and the tallest skyscrapers in Canada (ahead of First Canadian Place). The smaller of the two towers will be taller than Toronto's next highest condo, Aura, by 1 metre.

The two towers will lie on either side of Duncan street (a.k.a. Ed Mirvish Way). Together, they are set to have 1,950 units. Beneath the condos, the plan includes a hotel in the west tower, a new campus for the OCAD University, and a public art gallery devoted to Mirvish's collection of abstract expressionist art. The design of the buildings has been compared to New York's IAC Building. Toronto-born Frank Gehry was also the main architect behind Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario building.

The original plan, released in 2012, was for three towers and included demolition of the Mirvish-owned Princess of Wales Theatre and some early 1900s-era heritage buildings. Although the architecture was praised, the project was criticized for the demolition of the theatre and heritage buildings and the overall scale of the project. After consultation with the City of Toronto government, the project plan was changed to two towers, will spare the theatre, and preserve elements of the heritage buildings. The new complex plan was approved for construction in 2014. In October 2017, Mirvish sold the project to Great Gulf Corporation, builders of the One Bloor tower in Toronto, which will develop it.