Cityzen Developments

Migrating Landscapes: In the Spirit of Young Architects in Ontario

Brookfield Place was packed with over 300 people last night as the winners for Ontario's exhibition of Migrating Landscapes were announced. Cityzen are advocates of young and emerging architects, and this is one of many competitions Sam Crignano has personally supported. 

 

The four winners (excluding people's choice) will be heading to the national competition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery March 15 – April 29, and possibly on to the Venice Architecture Biennale (August 29 – November 25, 2012).

So, who wants to go on a road trip?

Congratulations to Ontario winners Andrew Batay-Csorba and Jodi Batay Csorba, Andrea Lacalamita and Gillian Tyrrell, Erica Pecoskie and George Simionopoulos, and Kfir Gluzberg and Liana Bresler, and People's Choice winners Emre Yurga and Christina Kalt.

The winners were selected by an Ontario jury made up of An Te Liu, Michael Moxam, Chris Pommer, Lisa Rochon and Brigitte Shim.

Sam with the winners and Migrating Landscapes Organizer

Thanks to Peter and Pauls, Malivoire Wine and Burning Kiln Winery for supplying the event, the sponsors and everyone who has so far donated to get the team to Venice. We will be providing updates as they come. For more photos, visit our Facebook page. 

Migrating Landscapes is a nation-wide competition and series of seven regional exhibitions across Canada that explores how Canadian architects and designers ages 45 and under have been influenced by migration.

The winners of the competition will officially represent "Team Canada" at the 2012 Venice Biennale in Architecture.

What do Migrating Landscapes sponsors say?

Over the last month, we've had the pleasure of speaking with other sponsors of Migrating Landscapes and asking them why they support the project. Here is what they had to say. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Migrating Landscapes wraps up at Brookfield Place (181 Bloor Street, Toronto) on February 24th. To vote for your favourite entry, head down to Bay and Front before it's too late. Which of the contestants do you think will make it to the Venice Architecture Biennale this summer?

Dominus: Investing in Brampton's Downtown

In August 2011, Brampton City Council approved the Southwest Quadrant Renewal Plan for the city.  The proposal, submitted by Dominus Construction Group, envisions a mixed-use development with new administrative, parking and retail space in a revitalized downtown Brampton. 

Last week, we attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the quadrant along with Joe Cordiano and a crew from Dominus, where the Mayor of Brampton Susan Fennell announced that the project was going forward.

On the construction front, actual drilling for caissons will begin any day now:

A drill rig used by Deep Foundations, Dominus' shoring contractor, to drill the holes for the caisson wall.

This is formwork for a guide wall construct by Deep Foundations. A guide wall is to ensure the correct placement of the caisson wall.   

The project is expected to be complete in 2014. We see a lot of growth in Brampton's urban landscape and plenty of business opportunities, and we're curious about how Brampton will change in the coming years. The city is already the GTA's third most populous municipality with a current estimated population of 510,000.

For all of our photos, check out our Facebook album: Dominus at Brampton City Hall. 

Sam Talks: February 2012 Edition

This is the first of a monthly contribution that I'll be making to the official Cityzen blog. I'll discuss all things Cityzen including the latest updates on our projects, interesting things that we have in the pipeline, upcoming events and much more.

Life Backstage: Latest Construction Update from The Esplanade

We recently visited the corner of Yonge and The Esplanade in downtown Toronto to see the progress of Daniel Libeskind's L Tower, but we also stopped by the Backstage site to see what was new. Our previous trip to the site in November showed that it was truly at the early stages of preparation for excavation.

This time around, there was a bit more to see. Caisson drilling is roughly 80% complete and the first row of tie-backs on the south side of the site are 20% done. We're still in the early phase of excavation, but the main job for the next few months is to dig, dig, dig.

We hope to reach footing elevations in June. If everything goes as planned, we'll be back at street level early in 2013.

So, we're getting there! In one month, we'll provide you with another update. Check out our photos below, and visit Facebook for the full album.

Migrating Landscapes in T.O.: The scent of wood fills Brookfield Place

Johanna Hurme, one of the organizers of Migrating Landscapes, said it best: "You have migration stories that shape the way you see the world." This is, of course, the purpose of the Migrating Landscapes exhibition that opened in Toronto this past Monday on February 6th.

Migrating Landscapes is representing Canada at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2012 in August by communicating through architecture their encounters with the Canadian landscape as first, second and third-generation immigrants. All designers are under 45 years old.

With that said, here is what you should do once you arrive at Brookfield Place:

• See the awesome timeline designed by Dept. of Unusual Certainties
• Check out the entrants videos placed by their models
• VOTE! at Brookfield Place for your favourite entry. To see each entrant's work, visit our album

The winners will be announced at the exclusive VIP gala on February 22nd (by invitation only).

Two-thirds of Migrating Landscapes Organizer: Jae-Sung Chon and Johanna Hurme

The team still requires donations to fund their travels to Venice. To show your support, follow Cityzen on Twitter @Cityzengroup and on Facebook, donate through the online form for the Venice Biennale fund. You can also contact Sara Crignano to donate: saracrignano@cityzen.ca, 416-777-2489 ext. 225.

 Migrating Landscapes will be at Toronto from February 6-24, 2012 at Brookfield Place, 181 Bay Street.

See our Facebook album for all Toronto pictures and Ontario entrants.

Waterlilies construction continues in Oakville

We're happy to report that construction at Waterlilies Town Homes in Oakville is moving along delightfully from our last visit in November. When we visited the site last week, the last driveway pour was being prepped, but amidst the concrete, lush gardens, trees and ponds will lie a livable, vibrant community.

Check out our latest pics!

The crew has only two more slab pours to complete.

 Forming work continues to be the big job on site.

What lies ahead? Blocks 3-6, townhouse walls and landscaping walls are the next big projects to work on.

Work on the underground  is almost complete with one pocket remaining open to take all the jacks and forms out. 

Prepping the last bit of driveway for pouring.

Oakville is one of the GTA's most upscale markets with tons of activity and diversity. This project is highly anticipated with phase one having sold out in two days. For more construction photos, visit our Facebook album.

From Oakville? We want to know what your favourite thing about the area is. Let us know in the comments box below or via Facebook or Twitter.

Migrating Landscapes starts on Monday, February 6th

The countdown is nearing its end! Migrating Landscapes begins on Monday here in Toronto, and we're thrilled to be sponsoring such a fantastic event.

Lisa Rochon, architecture critic of the Globe and Mail and author of "Up North", talks about Migrating Landscapes and why she is a judge for the Canadian architectural competition. See our interview below.

Migrating Landscapes is still looking for donations to support the winners to get to the Venice Architecture Biennale this summer.

Here's how you can show your support: 

• Migrating Landscapes is accepting donations through an online form now
• Follow Cityzen on twitter @Cityzengroup and on facebook for updates
• Visit the official page of Migrating Landscapes 
• Contact Sara Crignano to donate: saracrignano@cityzen.ca, 416-777-2489 ext. 225

 Migrating Landscapes will be at Toronto from February 6-24, 2012 at Brookfield Place.

L is for Libeskind: L Tower construction update

Our last L Tower construction update was in mid-November, and since then, we've shared tons about Daniel Libeskind but not enough about the progress of his latest Toronto building. So what's new at the L?

The highly anticipated building is currently built up to the 23rd floor and continuing at a pace of roughly one floor built per week.

Windows have been delivered with some initial installations on the 4th floor with more on the way.

We've received a delivery of windows up to the 9th floor so work will progress on installation in the coming weeks.

Plumbing, electrical, and water work will be starting in the next few weeks so our already busy site is about to get a whole lot busier.

The Sony Centre Back of House work has also been coming along nicely. 

L Tower is one of our most exciting projects yet that screams "starchitect". We are beyond excited to see the final project and how it will effect the Sony Centre's revitalization.

For all of our latest construction photos for L Tower, see our Facebook album. Anything you'd like to see in the next construction update? Let us know!