Mississauga's Coolest Addition

March 29, 2006 - Who says living in the suburbs has to be boring?

The City of Mississauga recently held an international architectural contest for its Absolute Downtown landmark near the city's civic square and Square One shopping centre. The competition attracted architects from around the world, with submissions that look more like sculptures than buildings. Click here to see all the submissions.

Yesterday, the City announced the winning design - Chinese Architect Yansong Ma won the competition with his "Marilyn Monroe" condo tower - nicknamed so because of the building's curves. It wasn't the design that I voted for - I voted for the design by Tarek El-Khatib (the last finalist), but I'm not complaining. The condo tower will definitely bring a new sense of architectural uniqueness to the otherwise bland landscape of the city. It's also interesting that it's the private developers who are leading the way towards this new architectural renaissance in Mississauga (and not the City's planning department).

Speaking of Mississauga, the City also recently commissioned Projects for Public Spaces (PPS) for help in revitalization the public spaces in around the downtown area, with a particular focus on creating new parks and open spaces in the city centre. PPS held a series of workshops with city planners and citizens on ideas and strategies to place making. PPS made a series of recommendations, including creating a permanent farmers market on the Square One parking lot, turning Burnhamthorpe Road into a grand boulevard, and improving access to public transit in the downtown core. Click here for PPS's full report.