Uno Prii
Some of his best-known works are apartment buildings in The Annex neighbourhood of Toronto, featuring outlines that make sweeping curves.
[4] Having his own firm allowed him to explore his architectural vision, which diverged from the straight lines and simple forms emphasized by Modernism, the dominant style at the time.
Prii's lightly curved façade features a dramatic yet elegant flare at the fifth floor, allowing for deeper balconies.
Prii designed the wide apartment tower with a large curved canopy over its entrance, perforated with a series of small holes at the edge.
The white walls are contrasted with opaque blue balcony railings on the main façade facing the street, as well as on the opposite side of the building.
The roofline and side walls with an arch at ground level recall the Prince Arthur Towers, and an outward flare in the façade just above the lowest floors is similar to the Vincennes.
The 12-storey apartment building is characterized by circular and linear motifs, with a semi-circular canopy over the driveway in front, perforated with large holes around the edges.
Prii also designed a complementary fountain located in front of the building with two intersecting parabolic arches over a circular pool, connecting with the canopy.
[6] They were removed for balcony repairs to be made, but then owner Gaetano D'Addario decided not to reinstall them, choosing unremarkable clear glass railings in July 2001 as the replacement, in spite of protests from tenants, neighbours, the architect's family, and individuals in the architecture community like Larry Richards of the University of Toronto Faculty of Architecture.
He adapted ancient imagery for decorative motifs, creating post and lintel allusions with concrete slabs, and stylized faces inspired by Moai and rectilinear human figures.
[1] Prii was concerned that big apartment buildings tended to be seen as anonymous human filing cabinets, that unadorned rectangular towers did not offer tenants an identity.
Like Morris Lapidus in the United States, Uno Prii found himself popular, but not acclaimed, receiving no awards or recognition from his fellow architects.
