Hullmark Centre is situated on a significant urban node in Metropolitan Toronto at the intersection of two major arterial roads and two subway transit lines.
The design concept envisions two slender point towers set in rotation along the curvilinear sweep of a 5 storey commercial office podium. This sweep is accentuated by a concave environmental graphic media screen, which animates the Grand Plaza, increasing its year round usability and establishing an urban node as one of the key high density development sites in Toronto.
The mixed-use podium creates a backdrop for the grade-related retail, which includes a large-scale food store with direct access to the two subway lines below. The Yonge Street sidewalk has been sequentially expanded into the Grand Plaza with textured paving, glazed canopies and functional street planting to enhance the pedestrian experience. The ground level is lined with a clear glass base to express permeability with comfortable scaled pedestrian canopies lining the facades to activate the retail. All entrances are designed as ‘portals’ – re-occurring elements signifying the entry points to the building.
The two point towers, which house 250,000 square feet of prime commercial office space and about 700 residential condo units, rotate in a cubist fashion opening up clear sightlines from the inside of the project into the community. The office component is integrated with a distinctive massing and façade treatment according to the philosophy of “form follows function” as it adds an additional cubist element to the sculptural form of the project.
The roof area has been transformed into a major landscaped garden green roof. Vistas from the entire neighborhood will be focused onto this landscaped open space totaling almost one acre in size. Following good urban design principles, vehicular and service access happen seamlessly and safely at grade, hidden from the major urban streets.