King Portland Centre, located in the heart of a prominent cultural and entertainment district in downtown Toronto, has won the Best Tall Office Building and the Urban Habitat - District/Master Plan Scale at the 2022 Awards of Excellence Conference hosted by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat International (CTBUH).

CTBUH’s global awards program recognizes extraordinary contributions to advancing tall buildings and the urban environment. Awards are given in more than 20 categories for the best tall building, urban habitat, innovation, renovation, interior design, construction, and engineering.

Located in the King West neighbourhood, the King Portland Centre comprises 12,000 sq. ft. of retail space, a 14-storey, 255,000 sq. ft. Commercial Tower with 6,100 sq. ft. of indoor amenity space facing King Street West, and a 16-storey, 113,000 sq. ft. Residential Tower facing Adelaide Street. It features large, bricked arches to frame the ground floor and connect to the district’s brick-and-beam industrial character while seamlessly integrating a modern curtain wall glazing with curved glass corners for the office tower above.

The project’s green features include an energy-efficient design with an underfloor air distribution system, LED lighting throughout, high-performing equipment and building envelope, rainwater harvesting for irrigation and satisfying indoor plumbing demands, and electric charging stations for electric cars.

Green terraces offer outdoor amenity spaces for office workers, and three levels of underground parking accommodate the needs of the new inhabitants added to the block. The tower achieved its long-term sustainability targets through an integrated design approach. The office portion of the development is LEED Platinum-registered and features photovoltaic (PV) solar panels on the roof.

The Tower was also featured in UrbanToronto’s 15 Most Influential Buildings of the 2010s.

Photo credit: Hariri Pontarini