Chicago studio Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture has released designs for two skyscrapers in Toronto that will rise from a block of preserved heritage buildings.

The first skyscraper, called 648 Yonge, will be 75 storeys tall, topping out at 254 metres at its site in a busy Downtown Toronto neighbourhood.

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG) designed the tower to rise behind a block of low-rise heritage buildings currently occupied by shops.

According to the studio this will "maintain heritage facades to keep neighborhood character".

The tower itself will rise from a thin podium placed at the back of the corner lot, which will have a wooden pergola structure extended towards the street to mark the entrance.

The base will be slightly recessed from the floors above so that the residential program cantilevers slightly towards the street. With a roughly oval shape, the tower will have faceted sides of glass and steel that rise straight up and terminate in a fluted crown.

A semi-enclosed space at the top of the tower will be reserved for the residents of the one-, tw0-, and three-bedroom units planned for the building.

648 Yonge is part of a development being put forward for approval by KingSett Capital. The application includes another skyscraper of equal height called Isabella – 645 Yonge.

This tower is down the block and across the street from 648 Yonge, and the architecture studio plans for the two structures to create a combined effect.

"The building at 648 Yonge is meant to be viewed in tandem with the adjacent building at Yonge and Isabella, creating a view corridor," said AS + GG.

The second tower is similar in form and proposed material but has a domed crown. Combined, the development represents an addition to an area of the city that has been seeing an influx of proposals for new skyscrapers in the past years.

Also in the vicinity will be Foster + Partners' supertall The One, which will have 85 storeys and top out at over 300 metres and Hariri Pontarini's 312 SkyTower, both of which have submitted applications to the city to extend their height. If successful, SkyTower would stand 346 tall.

Currently, the tallest planned skyscraper in the city – and country – is the design by Herzog & de Meuron's called 1200 Bay Street, at 324 metres.

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture was founded by Adrian Smith, Gordon Gill and Robert Forest in 2006 after the three departed from tenures at SOM. The studio designed the world's tallest skyscraper called Jeddah Tower, which is currently under construction in Saudi Arabia.

The images are courtesy of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture.