Tag Archives: First Canadian Place

12 floors finished, 60 more to lose their marbles as First Canadian Place gets a new glass face

 

First Canadian Place office tower

First Canadian Place office tower recladding progress viewed from the northwest corner of York & Adelaide Streets on March 14 2011

 

Fresh new face: I think it’s safe to say the First Canadian Place (FCP) office tower rejuvenation program is the city’s highest-profile construction project — simply since exterior work on the 72-storey building’s top floors has been visible across much of the city since the beginning of 2010.

When it opened in 1975, FCP instantly became a Toronto landmark — and the tallest skyscraper in all of Canada. But even though it has held the title as the country’s tallest building ever since, FCP started losing its lustre in the mid-1990s when its bright white marble wall began to discolour and deteriorate.

When built, the tower was clad in 45,000 white Carrara marble panels that looked striking, but lacked durability. Over the next 20 years, city smog and the harsh extremes of the Canadian climate took their toll, causing the panels to darken, crack and warp. The building’s owners inspected the marble regularly, replacing any panels that had become loose or damaged, but the stark contrast of shiny new marble slabs beside original, greyed panels gave the tower’s exterior a mottled, dirty appearance.

 

Marble panel plunged from 55th floor

What looked like merely a cosmetic concern became a safety issue in May 2007 when a panel weighing between 200 and 300 pounds fell from the 55th floor during a wind storm, plunging to the roof of FCP’s third-floor mezzanine. The incident made headlines after police closed surrounding streets as a precaution, disrupting streetcar service and causing severe traffic congestion throughout the downtown core. Things quickly got back to normal in the Financial District once repairs were made; meanwhile, engineers inspected the building exterior to ensure there weren’t any more marble slabs at risk of falling off the tower.

FCP wasn’t the only skyscraper having problems with its marble skin; in fact, the 83-storey Aon Centre in Chicago — designed by Edward Durell Stone, also the architect of FCP — experienced similar issues with its Carrara marble cladding, and ultimately replaced its entire facade with granite.

 

$100 million rejuvenation project started in 2009

In the late 2000s, the owners of FCP — Brookfield Properties — decided it was time to give their tower a facelift, too, as part of a multifaceted building rejuvenation program that would upgrade the building’s mechanical, electrical and lighting systems as well. With a total pricetag of more than $100 million, the rejuvenation project began in the late summer of 2009, and will continue until the end of 2012. The actual recladding work started in early 2010, and is scheduled to conclude at the end of this year. All 45,000 marble slabs are being replaced with white fritted laminated glass panels, a process that takes about three weeks per floor. (Ceramic fritting is a glazing that is baked onto glass.)

Meanwhile, the marble removed from the tower is being repurposed for landscaping and community arts projects. (In a December 31, 2010 article, “The upside of losing all your marbles,” the Globe and Mail revealed how some Toronto artists are incorporating pieces of FCP’s marble into sculptures and other projects.) 

Below are some of my pics showing progress on the recladding progress during the past 13 months. A separate post below that features a series of photos I’ve taken of FCP and the downtown skyline at various times during the past 10 years, including some showing the tower before it began shedding its skin, of course, and others during the rejuvenation process.

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

This November 9 2010 photo shows how the mix of old and new marble panels has given the First Canadian Place exterior a mottled appearance.

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

Discoloured marble panels on the tower’s north side November 29 2010

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

January 9 2010: Rows of marble panels have been removed above the 72nd floor

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

March 9 2010: More marble panels have been removed from the top of the tower. Meanwhile, the variations between old and new marble tiles are starkly evident in this view of upper floors on the skyscraper’s north side.

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

April 13 2010: A bank of external construction elevators rises up the east side of the tower. There is another bank of elevators on the building’s west wall.

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

May 8 2010:  Work on the tower exterior is visible throughout the downtown core.

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

June 11 2010: Movable scaffolding for the recladding project’s work team is being wrapped around the top two floors of the tower.

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

July 21 2010: The scaffolding looks like a crown atop First Canadian Place as the tower takes on a golden glow in the late afternoon sunshine.

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

August 6 2010: The scaffolding on the north wall has shifted down a few feet.

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

August 26 2010: New glass cladding is visible at the top of the north wall.

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

September 8 2010: The top row of fritted glass panels is now fully visible.

 

First Canadian Place office tower recladding project

October 7 2010: More rows of the new glass panels have been revealed.

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

October 20 2010: The fresh new top floor is fully revealed.

 

First Canadian Place office tower recladding project

November 2 2010: A CN Tower view of First Canadian Place. Notice that the scaffolding still covers half of the 70th floor on the tower’s south side…

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

… but within mere minutes, the right-hand section of the scaffolding has been lowered to the next level…

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

… and then the center section drops down. Two construction workers can be seen standing on the middle top of the metal structure.

 

First Canadian Place office tower recladding project

November 15 2010: Nearly five full floors have been finished.

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

November 29 2010: Bronze panels accent the tower’s inset corners.

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

December 17 2010: The top eight floors of the tower have now been reclad.

 

First Canadian Place office tower recladding project

January 3 2011: Early morning view of First Canadian Place

 

First Canadian Place tower recladding project

February 3 2011: The work elevators rising up the west side of the tower.

 

First Canadian Place office tower recladding project

February 18 2011: Recladding has been completed on nearly 11 full floors.

 

First Canadian Place officer tower recladding project

March 7 2011: Top of the tower’s west side viewed from street level

 

First Canadian Place office tower recladding project

March 14 2011: First Canadian Place viewed from York Street yesterday.

 

The skyline presence of First Canadian Place

First Canadian Place office tower

Canada’s tallest office tower, the 72-storey First Canadian Place, is seen in a photo shot on April 9 2004

 

Standing tall: First Canadian Place has always had a strong presence on the Toronto skyline, thanks to its height and its crisp white Carrara marble curtain wall exterior. But time and weather have taken their toll on the stately tower, and its owner is undertaking a $100 million project to replace the 45,000 discoloured and deteriorating marble tiles with fritted glass panels (see the post above for further details on that endeavour).

First Canadian Place still stands out on the skyline — it just doesn’t look as brilliant as it once did. But once work crews finish installing its full new glass facade, possibly by the end of this year, the 72-storey tower will gleam once again.

Below is a pic I took of First Canadian Place and the Financial District while visiting the CN Tower shortly after I moved to Toronto in 1983. I took the other photos below that at various times over the past 10 years.

 

First Canadian Place and Toronto's Financial District

Summer 1983: CN Tower view of First Canadian Place and the Financial District

 

First Canadian Place and Toronto's Financial District skyscrapers

September 30 2001: First Canadian Place has some new company on the skyline

 

First Canadian Place and the CN Tower

July 21 2001: First Canadian Place and the CN Tower dominate the skyline

 

First Canadian Place and the Financial District

August 3 2002: First Canadian Place towers above the Financial District

 

First Canadian Place and the Toronto skyline

August 5 2002: Humber Bay view of First Canadian Place

 

First Canadian Place viewed from Nathan Phillips Square

May 11 2004: First Canadian Place viewed from Nathan Phillips Square

 

First Canadian Place viewed from Riverdale

July 4 2007: A Riverdale Park view of First Canadian Place and its neighbours

 

First Canadian Place as a thunderstorm approaches

July 12 2007: First Canadian Place as a thunderstorm approaches

 

First Canadian Place viewed from Centre Island

August 4 2007: First Canadian Place has lost its shine, and the discoloured marble wall panels are clearly noticeable on the skyline, even from the Toronto Islands.

 

First Canadian Place and Bay Adelaide Centre

August 27 2008: The Bay Adelaide Centre rises near First Canadian Place

 

First Canadian Place and the Toronto skyline

March 11 2010: Bathurst Street Bridge view of the Financial District

 

First Canadian Place viewed from Riverdale

April 24 2010: When viewed from this location in Riverdale, the bottom two-thirds of First Canadian Place appears to have a bluish grey cladding. That’s actually the Bay Adelaide Centre tower two blocks away.

 

First Canadian Place and the Financial District at sunset

July 3 2010: First Canadian Place at sunset

 

First Canadian Place and the Toronto skyline

August 1 2010: The scaffolding on the top floors of First Canadian Place is obvious even from a distance; here, from Tommy Thompson Park on the Leslie Street Spit

 

First Canadian Place and the Toronto skyline

August 1 2010: Another skyline view from the Leslie Street Spit

 

First Canadian Place office tower and the Toronto skyline

August 1 2010: Leslie Street Spit view of the skyline

 

CN Tower view of First Canadian Place

November 2 2010: CN Tower view of the Financial District

 

First Canadian Place and the Toronto skyline

January 14 2011: A winter skyline view from the Bathurst Street Bridge

 

First Canadian Place and the Financial District

February 12 2011: First Canadian Place viewed from Avenue Road at Bloor Street

 

First Canadian Place office tower

February 18 2011: First Canadian Place viewed from the Metro Hall park next to Roy Thomson Hall (bottom right)

First Canadian Place and the Toronto skyline

March 8 2011: Financial District in early evening

 

First Canadian Place and nearby officer towers

March 14 2011: First Canadian Place and nearby officer towers

 

Watching T.O. grow

A construction crane at sunset April 8 2010

Construction season: We Canadians have long joked that our country sees only two seasons: winter and construction. Lately, however, Toronto has been under the influence of a microclimate that produces just one season lasting all year long: construction.

Toronto has been experiencing a building boom of unparalleled proportions since the early 2000s. There have been major construction projects in nearly every downtown neighbourhood, with more on the way. It’s almost impossible to walk more than a few blocks without passing a building site, a sandwich board sidewalk sign advertising a new condo development, or a zoning notice advising the public that a proposal has been submitted to City Hall to develop a specific property. On downtown streets, cement mixers and dusty dump trucks are as common a sight as buses and streetcars. So are scaffolding, sidewalk detours and traffic lane closures. And if you look up, you’re bound to see a nearby construction crane reaching skyward.

Just from my apartment balcony, I can see two office towers, one five-star hotel and seven condo highrises — each more than 30 storeys tall — that have been built in the past two years alone. I can see the tallest skyscraper in Canada, First Canadian Place, getting a $100 million facelift as new cladding is installed on its 72-storey façade.  I can see the historic Maple Leaf Gardens hockey arena being converted into a mixed-use facility featuring a Loblaws grocery store and a student athletic centre for Ryerson University. In just a few weeks I’ll be able to see a new condo tower going up on Bay Street, and by spring I should be able to see as many as five cranes — three for condo projects, one for the Hospital for Sick Children’s new Research and Learning Tower,  and one for a new Women’s College Hospital building.

I think it’s cool to see so much construction activity on the skyline – my balcony view is constantly changing, and there’s always something different to see. But when I walk around downtown and discover how much development is already underway or proposed for the near future, I’m almost blown away. Toronto is growing by great leaps and bounds. I have stumbled across fully-finished new buildings where I saw only a zoning sign or an excavation the last time I passed through the neighbourhood. Or I’ll notice that I can no longer see the CN Tower from a certain area because a tower under construction has completely blocked the view. Entire streetscapes and neighbourhoods change so rapidly, I can barely remember what they looked like before new highrises started going up. I daydream about construction frequently, imagining how the city streets and skyline will  look with dozens of additional skyscrapers.

A few years ago, I began carrying my camera during walks downtown, so I could snap photos of construction projects and sites for proposed developments – just to keep track of what’s going on, and to show friends who used to live here just how much the city has changed since they left. Thanks to my little hobby, I’ve now got thousands of photos of dozens of different building projects. Organizing some of those pics into a blog seemed like a logical next step, so here you have it: The Toronto Blog. If you’re a resident or fan of Toronto, or just an architecture or construction aficionado, I hope you’ll come along as I track the building boom and watch T.O. grow!