A Fluid Design Experience

The new W Hotel in Toronto by Sid Lee Architecture is inspired from the city's current and historical heritage.

Rethought as a multitude of mises en scène, the W Worldwide’s latest property in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood echoes the diversity of the urban centre. Designed by Sid Lee Architecture, it is described as ‘an encounter with the city within its own walls’.

CONNECTED TO THE STREET

“Connection to the community being an important part of W’s DNA, it was vital to connect the hotel to its context, but the original closed-off layout of the building represented an integration challenge” says Martin Leblanc, architect and senior partner at Sid Lee Architecture. “Our team relied on a seamless connection between the interior and the exterior to turn the hotel into a connectivity hub.” That idea was deployed around the addition of an elevator accessible directly from the street.

On the ground floor, the facade opens onto the street and allows for a direct connection with Public School: the hotel’s café by day, and cocktail bar by night. The action is set around a casual circular bar adorned by notched black marble panels that fit the context of the designer stores of Bloor Street, while remaining approachable and inviting, and chic yet accessible.

The redesign of the entrance invites the street inside through colourful art interventions inspired by Toronto’s street art culture. The murals, signed by local artist, Alan Ganev, take visitors back to the famous ‘Graffiti Alley’.

VIBRANT SCENOGRAPHY