Toronto Star

"Marilyn Monroe"

Everyone's heard of the Bilbao Effect, but what about the Mississauga Effect? Don't laugh, it could happen; especially now that the winner of that city's first-ever international condo design competition has been revealed. Selected from 92 submissions from 70 countries, the chosen entry is a stunning and sensuous 50-storey tower that dips and curves in all the right places. Already it has been nicknamed Marilyn Monroe. Created by a young Beijing-based firm, MAD, this is no ordinary architectural icon. It's a statement about the power of design to establish a sense of place and context. "Suburbs around the world want to become metropolises," Yansong Ma, founder of MAD, said yesterday. "But we don't think they should. They have their own character. They should create their own identity." Certainly, Ma's tower, named Absolute by the developers, Cityzen Development Group and Fernbrook Homes, will accomplish that. "It had to be iconic," Ma insisted. "Since the early 20th century, the highrise has been the symbol of urban life."