Although in recent times Asia and the Middle East have emerged as the new locations for skyscrapers (in fact, China is the place in the world where there are the most buildings that caress the sky), the place par excellence for skyscrapers has always been North America. Cities like New York or Chicago and legendary buildings like the Empire State, One World Trade Center or the Central Park Tower set the pace of a competition that once seemed reserved for American cities.
But North America is not just the United States and the constructions of Torres Obispado in Monterrey or the imminent Tower Rise They show that their neighbors also know how to build skyscrapers very well. In this context comes the Pinnacle SkyTower in Toronto, a skyscraper that, although it is not the tallest in meters nor does it have the most spectacular silhouette, is going to mark a milestone: be the residential building with the most floors in all of North America, as well as the tallest skyscraper in Canada.
The skyscraper with 12 faces. The Pinnacle SkyTower that is being built in Toronto reaches a total height of 351.85 meters in its 106 floors. It will house 958 luxury homes, the new Le Méridien Toronto hotel, some 7,400 square meters of common areas and crowning it all, a restaurant with panoramic views on the top floor, such as explains the design studio Hariri Pontarini Architects. The forecast suggests that future residents They will be able to move in starting in autumn 2026, although the complete delivery of the set will be in 2027.
One of the aspects that attracts the most attention is its dodecagon shape. As Jodi Buck, partner of the architecture studio, details, this geometry seeks a balance between architecture and functionality, that is, it allows the construction of a more slender structure, opens views in various directions and something essential in buildings of this size: it better distributes the wind load on the façade. The upper floors progressively reduce until the tower ends in a striking pointed crown, which makes the SkyTower an unmistakable silhouette on the Toronto skyline.
Why it is important. To begin with, because The SkyTower breaks records: it will be the building with the highest number of floors in a residential building in North America. But there is a trick: it is not the tallest in meters, that title is still held by the Central Park Tower in New York, but it is the one with the most floors. This implies a design decision: favor the construction of more homes in a commitment to greater residential density per meter built.
At the urban level, with this building Canada is put on the map as a country capable of competing in this segment of super-high-rise skyscrapers, historically dominated by American and Asian cities. In fact and how points out New Atlasis one of the first Canadian skyscrapers to exceed 300 meters in actual building height. Curiously, setting the record was not initially in the project: with construction already underway, Pinnacle International made it possible because submitted an application to increase the height of the ceilings on some floors and convert mechanical space into habitable space.
Projection of the new and exclusive urban development of Toronto. One Yonge Toronto
Context. The SkyTower is the jewel in the crown of the Pinnacle One Yongea mixed-use development plan that is transforming the grounds of the former Toronto Star building into one of the city’s largest urban complexes, connecting the tower to a future public park next to Lake Ontario and the financial district.
The complete set is formed by six towers of between 22 and 106 floors that will house 2,500 homes, 93,000 square meters of offices, 7,400 square meters of shops, a community center of 4,600 square meters with a swimming pool and gym and a one-hectare public park. The first tower in the complex was the Prestige: it has 65 floors and was completed in 2022. The Pinnacle SkyTower is another example of the trend of super-tall towers that combine homes with hotels, a model widespread in Asia that North America is adopting in response to the housing need and the scarcity of land in central areas. Without going any further, Toronto has several similar projects under construction.
Yes, but. As we mentioned above, SkyTower does not win in meters but in floors: the Central Park Tower in New York surpasses it in absolute height thanks to its higher internal ceilings and we have the antenna, the First Canadian Place in Toronto equals it (although it is true that this does not count in official rankings).
On the other hand, and although it obviously increases the housing available in the Canadian city, we are talking about a building with 958 luxury homes with prices from 800,000 Canadian dollars and a five-star hotel. With that budget, it is difficult to resolve the problem of access to housing for its citizens. It is new housing, yes, but with prices within the reach of few.
Cover | Dillan Payne and JK Liu
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