For CTBUH: Bruce Kuwabara on Crafting Urban Densities with Tall Buildings

July 10, 2024

Last month, founding partner Bruce Kuwabara joined the Toronto chapter of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) for a presentation and roundtable discussion on Crafting Urban Densities with Tall Buildings.

The CTBUH brought together presenters Kuwabara and Alfredo Caraballo (Allies and Morrison), panelists Leona Savoie (Woodcliffe) and Andre Antanaitis (Great Gulf), and moderators Carlo Parente and Terri Peters (Toronto Metropolitan University) to discuss how tall buildings influence city-building, especially in rapidly expanding areas like Toronto. 

Using several of the firm’s projects as case studies, Kuwabara touched on the role tall buildings can play in shaping the public realm (Kitchener City Hall); in transit-oriented development (Dream LeBreton); in creating new neighbourhoods (PanAm/Parapan Games Athletes’ Village/Canary District); in large scale master plans (Downsview Framework Plan); and in the preservation of heritage architecture (Bloor Street United Church and Cielo Condos) 

He also discussed how skyscrapers can be designed sustainably, highlighting Manitoba Hydro Place and the Center for Computing & Data Sciences, both CTBUH Best Tall Building Award winners that achieved ambitious sustainability milestones. Manitoba Hydro Place was the first office tower in Canada to be certified LEED Platinum and the Center is Boston University’s first operationally fossil fuel-free building.