Can we design good places with tall buildings? Can tall buildings be 'good neighbours'? Can they become part of the 'fabric' of cities? Can a tower be a ‘background’ building?

Towers are a particularly difficult typology for city making. Most tall buildings aim to emphasize their singularity, their formal aspects, literally aiming to stand out. On the other hand, the increasing densification of our cities makes them a seemingly unavoidable ingredient of urban centres. This seems to be particularly important in cities like Toronto and London where most new large projects of urban regeneration push for higher densities and taller buildings.

 Alfredo’s lecture will dwell on Allies and Morrison’s experience tackling these challenges. He will show both buildings and places in London and Toronto.

 Alfredo Caraballo is a partner at Allies and Morrison in London working across a range of projects from conceptual stages through to completion. He enjoys the dialogues that come from the design process and has particular interests in the sensitive densification of urban sites and in large, complex masterplans.

Alfredo is the partner in charge of several international projects, including four projects in India, a new residential quarter on the edge of the old city of Beirut and the redevelopment of the Expo Site in Milan for Lendlease. He undertook an urban study for the prime Midtown Manhattan site at Penn Station for Vornado Realty Trust and has led the award-winning masterplan for new high-density sustainable city in Oman. A central voice for Toronto work, he is currently designing several new neighbourhoods in this fast-growing city; from a 11-ha post-industrial waterfront site in Toronto to the redevelopment of an industrial site into mixed-use transport-led community, Beltline Yards.

In London, he led the design for Keybridge, a hybrid residential-led development incorporating a new school. And he has been involved in the practice’s work at Canada Water, developing the design for Plot A1 containing the tallest tower in the scheme. Other schemes have included One Vine Street, part of our masterplan for the Crown Estate at Regent Street and plans for the extension for Westfield White City.

A native of Caracas, Alfredo studied at the Universidad Central de Venezuela and London Metropolitan University. He taught for several years at Kingston University and has held lectureships and critic positions in U.K. and Latin American universities and lectured in the U.S. and Asia. He is co-chair of the International Council of the Van Alen Institute in New York and sits on the Lambeth Design Review Panel.