RDH Architects (RDHA) and WilkinsonEyre ? in association with Toronto-based firm Zeidler Architecture ? are among the 2020 International Architecture Awards recipients for projects in the ?Libraries? and ?Bridges and Infrastructures? categories.
The award, presented by the architecture and design museum, The Chicago Athenaeum together with the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and Metropolitan Arts Press Ltd., recognizes the best, significant new buildings from over 38 countries.
WilkinsonEyre and Zeidler Architecture?s CF Eaton Centre Bridge received an award in the Bridges and Infrastructure category. The project required a new enclosed bridge to replace an outdated span between two shopping destinations in downtown Toronto. The design had to resolve a disparity between the architecture of the historic Hudson’s Bay Centre and the 1970s Eaton Centre. Photo Credit: Stefan Palman and James Brittain
According to the Awards program, the springing point for the bridge was predefined emerging from the existing arches of the older building on one side, and on the other, taking the opportunity to move the landing point at the Eaton Centre from a hidden position into the main atrium.
The architectural response is a graded shift, through geometry, from a traditional arch in the facade of the Hudson Bay building to a modern rectangular opening in the Eaton center. The new bridge interior suitably reflects the quality retail environments of both malls...