Studio Gang launches designs for One Delisle, an organic-looking block with urban aspirations in Toronto

In Toronto’s Midtown, Studio Gang has launched a new design for a mixed-use tower and its block. Located at the southwest corner of Yonge and Delisle, ‘One Delisle’ brings with it aspirations for urban enhancements blending residential with retail space and pedestrian-friendly areas. Now, after launching plans of the block to the community, Studio Gang and developer Slate Asset Management will submit to the city of Toronto planning department.

The building rises from its plot, swelling into a complex 16-sided organic form sprouting a series of eight-storey elements that spiral up the facade. The shape is defined by the diverse floor plans of the residences, designed by Studio Gang in a variety of shapes and sizes to welcome a range of single people, couples and families into the building. 

Attuned to Toronto’s climate, One Delisle synthesises verdantly planted terraces and shaded balconies into the design, opening up the outdoor experience to residents all year around.

View of One Delisle from across Yonge Street. Image by Norm Li. Courtesy Studio Gang

Chicago-based Studio Gang have residential towers springing up internationally such as the Aqua Tower in Chicago, Folsom Bay Tower in San Francisco, and 40 Tenth Avenue along the High Line in New York, where the studio continues to experiment by vertically threading green space through a block, elevating the offering of public space and blending typologies together to create new forms.

Benefitting from its developer Slate Asset Management acquiring a large portion of land in the area, while One Delisle certainly is a new form to the area, it also falls into step in its neighbourhood. At street level, the architecture is set back from Yonge Street and Delisle Avenue to open up public spaces and wider pavements. Storefronts along Yonge Street help the building to feel part of the community and respond to the local context.§