but also a refreshing change
to the set forms of high-rise
routine.”
The high praise and recogni-
tion, Burka believes, is due to
the organic approach the firm
undertook with the project.
“It certainly does look like a
living organism but we must
say that the shape is the con-
fluence of external and inter-
nal design criteria. Contrary
to most organic design ap-
proaches, this building has not
been designed only from the
“inside out” or the “outside
in” but both. The building ex-
presses the will of both the
citizen and the inhabitant.”
Although Mississauga’s City
Centre already included some
significant architectural land-
marks, it lacked a focal point
and a connection to the lake
where it resides. In a sense,
the Absolute Tower “ex-
pressed [the city’s] latent de-
sire to turn toward the lake
and embrace it.”
“The building does look like it
is turning towards the lake…
This rotational aspect of the
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