The Globe and Mail

"Marilyn Monroe"

Choosing architect Yansong Ma's curvaceous skyscraper for the Absolute project was a gutsy move. Let's hope that mutters of 'change' don't wind up diluting the artistic integrity of the design For observers of architecture (including this one) who like a bit of fun and flash along with architecture's usual high seriousness, the outcome of the international competition for Mississauga's Absolute tower, announced Tuesday, was generally pleasant news. Just not absolutely pleasant. But I'll get to my reservations later on. First, the good news. In a juried contest among six finalists, Chinese-American architect Yansong Ma won the $125,000 prize with a curvaceous skyscraper, reminiscent of a tight dress with Marilyn Monroe inside. The project is unusual and charming, and it embodies healthy tendencies in contemporary skyscraper design: a readiness to experiment with skins and surfaces, for example, and a yearning to be free at last from the up-and-down stiffness of the modernist tall building style. (Mr. Ma, who is a native of Beijing and now lives there, is a veteran of the distinguished architectural program at Yale University.)