Brendan McNeill photographs "curious juxtaposition" between Toronto's historic buildings and modern skyscrapers

Photographer Brendan McNeill has documented the juxtaposition of the historic buildings of Toronto and the current wave of construction in his photo series Ten Years Taller.

Photographed across the city, Ten Years Taller is composed of close-ups and wider shots of Toronto's historic streets along with projects such as BIG's King Toronto Residences and ongoing construction on the city's waterfront.

McNeill created the series in response to the current wave of development that is transforming the city.

The photographer, who grew up in a rural area, said he experienced a culture shock when he moved to Toronto just over a decade ago, but the city has now begun to transform into "something else".

"The initial culture shock between a rural environment and an urban metropolis like Toronto [began] to transition into something else," McNeill told Dezeen.

"I looked at it and I was just like – the development and the rate of development in the city is mind-blowing."

The photos show the intersection of Toronto's various neighbourhoods and architectural styles – notably its brick Victorian townhouses next to glass skyscrapers – in what the photographer describes as an "organised calamity".

According to non-profit Toronto Society of Architects executive director Joël León Danis, McNeill's series forms part of a wider reflection on the city's current development.

"Works like these photographs – it's part of a trend," Danis told Dezeen.

"All these things have resulted in this weird market where there is a lot of need for housing, yet no one can afford housing. It's forced us to have the discussion of how do we unlock more housing?"

Danis notes that this isn't the first period of rapid development in the city's history, referencing the numerous residential, concrete-slab towers that were built in the city in the 1960s and the glass towers built in the 2000s.

Currently, projects underway in the city include skyscrapers by Frank Gehry, Foster + Partners, the city's first supertall skyscrapers and mega developments such as Bayside and The Well, which are made up of two or more towers.

Many of these larger projects are set to be completed in the next few years.

"[Toronto] has turned into somewhat of a sterile, homogenized landscape and it might squeeze out the vibrant, diverse tapestry that once defined Toronto's character," said McNeill.

"There's a bit tension there, too. This is more conceptual, but that is also something I'm investigating in this work and future work in urban spaces."

Other recent projects in Toronto include an addition to its historic St Lawrence Market by British architecture studio RSHP and a renovation of the art deco College Park building that includes placing three towers atop the structure.

The photography is by Brendan McNeill

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