The Globe and Mail

"Marilyn Monroe"

A romantically feminine, curvaceous skyscraper, reminiscent of a tight dress with Marilyn Monroe inside, has won a closely watched architectural competition for one of the Greater Toronto Area's most important intersections. The announcement was made yesterday atop the CN Tower by Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion, who quipped that she might now have to settle for second place as her home city's sexiest lady. The avant-garde winning design for the 50-storey, 450-suite residential tower in Mississauga's Absolute development was submitted by Chinese-American architect Yansong Ma, whose MAD office operates studios in Ann Arbor, Mich., and in Beijing. Mr. Ma received $25,000 this year when his proposal made the competition's semi-finals. He and his MAD office team will receive $125,000 toward preparation of plans and drawings. The construction cost of the building is estimated by the developers at $110-million to $130-million.