A soaring residential tower planned to rise along Toronto's waterfront just took home an international design award honouring the best new future projects planned across the world.

Introduced in spring 2022, the bold new plan for 307 Lake Shore Boulevard East — formerly the proposed site of the futuristic Quayside community from Sidewalk Labs — promised a new bright future for the forlorn waterfront site with a striking design from architects BDP Quadrangle.

The 49-storey tower's design team was crowned with the 'Future Project Award' by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), sharing the award with ten other head-turning designs planned in cities around the globe.

"I'm exceptionally proud that our team's efforts on 307 Lake Shore are being recognized by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat," says Ornella Richichi, Chief Development Officer at Plaza Partners, the developer building the now-award-winning project.

"Since the project began, we've understood the responsibility we have to develop such a significant waterfront site in a manner that is both socially and environmentally responsible. To be the only development in Toronto recognized with this award is a welcomed affirmation of those plans and ambitions."

Though artists' interpretations are to be taken with a grain of salt, the project promises to be a transformative presence on the Toronto skyline with a flatiron-shaped tower dominating the foot of Parliament Street.

If reality lives up to renderings, a lattice of offset triangular balconies wrapping the tower faces will give the building a shimmering, crystalline form against the mostly rigid and rectilinear skyline.

The 430-unit residential building — including new affordable housing options — will offer 700 square metres of community space, over 1,500 square metres of indoor amenity space and over 300 square metres of outdoor amenity space.

"This project will create a sustainable mixed-use urban community that meets local needs," says Stefanie Siu Chong, BDP Quadrangle Principal.

"Its location in the Quayside area and proximity to downtown Toronto presents an opportunity for the project to serve as a model for future developments in Toronto."

It will achieve these sustainability goals through several innovative measures, including airtight enclosures, high-performance windows, and efficient mechanical systems, aiming to achieve Passive House and Zero Carbon standards.

Construction is expected to begin in 2026.