For over 50 years, the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts (STLC) has been a premier location for performing arts shows in downtown Toronto. Home to the Bluma Appel and Jane Mallett Theatres at 27 Front Street, the space has undergone some renovations since its inception. Now, a new design competition would bring a reimagining of the site.

UrbanToronto previously looked at how TOLive and CreateTO, the agencies that respectively manage the City’s major civic theatres and real estate portfolio, have partnered to set up an international design competition. The details of the five finalists can be found on the competition’s website until March 3. This week we’re taking daily dives into each of the proposals, proceeding alphabetically through the list by lead local architect, and today we’re travelling through time with the final submission, with a design from the team of Zeidler Architecture, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Two Row Architect, and PLANT Architect.

St Lawrence Centre for the Arts redevelopment entry, designed by Zeidler Architecture, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Two Row Architect, and PLANT Architect for CreateTO and TO Live

Each proposal has taken on a theme, and this one looks from past to present to future. The design preserves a portion of the existing STLC building in order to help modernize, expand, and adapt it to new technologies. It would restore the ground floor’s glass façade for greater transparency, and the concrete façade on the west side would be modernized as a projection screen and backdrop for performances.

St Lawrence Centre for the Arts redevelopment entry, designed by Zeidler Architecture, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Two Row Architect, and PLANT Architect for CreateTO and TO Live

Looking to the future, the building’s sustainable design incorporates ecological roofs that utilize water retention, stormwater sequestering, and even enhancing the theatres’ acoustic barrier. The building would use renewable materials as much as possible, including wood and 85% recycled steel. Down below, the proposed STLC’s thermal exchange and heat recovery system would mean heating and cooling using less energy and carbon.

1st floor plan for the St Lawrence Centre for the Arts …