Tag Archives: Queen’s Quay East

George Brown College waterfront campus construction starts commanding attention

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: The second level of the new George Brown College waterfront campus dominates the view south from Queen’s Quay Boulevard…

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

…compared to August 29 2010, when only the construction cranes were visible.

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: West view of the construction site from Sherbourne Common

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: Southwest view of the construction from the lakeside promenade in front of the Corus Quay office building next door

 

Second floor takes shape: Mid-February was the last time I walked around the construction site for the new George Brown College waterfront campus. As photos from my February 5 2011 post showed, construction activity at the time was still below grade, as crews continued to form floors and walls for the building’s underground levels. From the street and the adjacent Sherbourne Common park, only the two giant construction cranes, concrete pumping machines, and assorted heavy construction machines and trucks were obvious to onlookers.

The scene was completely different when I made a return visit to the construction site on Thursday afternoon. With construction up to the second floor, the Health Sciences building now has a strong visual presence, rising well above the hoarding along Queen’s Quay boulevard. And as construction climbs higher toward its full eight-storey height, the college building will continue to steal attention away from its next-door neighbour, Corus Quay. 

Below is a series of photos showing construction progress on the waterfront campus back in mid-February and as of this week.

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

February 18 2011: A concrete pumping machine at the George Brown College waterfront campus construction site, viewed from Sherbourne Common

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

February 18 2011: North view of the George Brown College construction site from the lakeside walkway between Sherbourne Common and Sugar Beach

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

February 18 2011: Northwest view of the construction site from the walkway between the campus and the west side of Sherbourne Common

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

February 18 2011: Northeast view of the George Brown College waterfront campus construction from the lakeside walkway at Corus Quay

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

February 18 2011: East view of the construction site shows the college building’s underground levels approaching street grade

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: Queen’s Quay boulevard view of second-level construction activity on the north side of the campus building

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: A view of the north side of the building through the construction entrance on Queen’s Quay

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: A view of the center section of the building’s north side


George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: Campus construction viewed from the northwest on Queen’s Quay

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: Second level construction underway at the northwest corner


George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: Construction on the northwest corner of the campus building

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: The west side of the building viewed from the walkway between the campus and the Corus Quay offices next door

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: Southwest view of the construction progress from the lakeside walkway that links Sugar Beach and Corus Quay with Sherbourne Common

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: View toward the southeast corner of the building from the lakeside walkway near Sherbourne Common

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: The southeast corner of the building, viewed from the walkway between the campus and Sherbourne Common

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: Concrete delivery at the northeast corner of the building

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: Second level construction at the northeast corner of the building

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: Northeast view of the construction from Sherbourne Common

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: Concrete truck at the northeast corner of the construction zone

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: Sherbourne Common view of the college rising beside Corus Quay

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

April 21 2011: The east side of the building, viewed from Sherbourne Common

 

 

Taking a peek at Pier 27’s construction progress

Pier 27 condos

From The Residences at Pier 27 project website, an illustration of the condo complex under construction on Queen’s Quay Blvd. E.


Pier 27 condo

This truck was pumping concrete into the Pier 27 excavation today


Crane coming?: Thanks to the spring-like thaw in the weather over the past couple of days, the excavation at the Pier 27 condo development on the waterfront has become one enormous muddy hole in the ground. But construction work continues nonetheless, and today I saw a concrete pumper truck at the northeastern end of the massive waterfront excavation. Since it looks to me — from the street and sales centre parking lot, at least — that the lion’s share of digging has been done,  I suspect that concrete was being poured to build the base on which a construction crane will be installed sometime very soon.

I hope my assumption is correct, because I’m eager to see this development shake up the shape of the city’s lacklustre Lake Ontario shoreline. Right now, the waterfront is crowded with far too many tall buildings that share an unfortunate but common character trait: disappointing, dull designs. Whether they’re shiny glass and steel cylinders, or glass and concrete or brick boxes, most are boring, bland buildings that look like something you’ve seen somewhere else many times before. Some are downright ugly. What’s worse: they’re clustered in pairs and threesomes of lookalike towers. Most of the harbourside highrises would look drab enough individually, but as a long line of homely twins and triplets, they collectively give the city skyline a repetitive cookie-cutter appearance from the water.

Though they are basically just pairs of mid-rise glass and steel boxes themselves, it’s the dramatic rooftop “skybridges” linking the 12-storey Pier 27 condo buildings that will give this project an interesting flair and unique bold style that should finally break the decades-old pattern of architectural monotony along Queen’s Quay boulevard.

I also like the refreshing low scale of the development, which thankfully won’t create another wide, tall wall blocking the rest of the city from the water, like so many of the condos built in the last 30 years.

A project of Fernbrook Homes and Cityzen Developments, The Residences of Pier 27 were designed by Peter Clewes of Toronto’s architectsAlliance.

Below are photos I have taken of the condo sales office and excavation, along with several artistic building renderings that appear on the project’s website. (Some pics I’ve published previously can be viewed in this construction progress post from early January.)

Additional renderings and six construction photos, along with an animated project video, can be viewed at the Pier 27 website.

 

The Residences at Pier 27

From the Pier 27 website, an aerial lake-view illustration of the condo complex


The Residences at Pier 27

From the website, an artistic waterside view of one of the condo buildings


The Residences at Pier 27

Side view rendering of one of the condo buildings and its rooftop “skybridge”


The Residences at Pier 27

Pier 27 sales office next to the construction site


The Residences at Pier 27

Another view of the Pier 27 sales centre


the Residences at Pier 27

The southwest side of the Pier 27 excavation on February 18 2011


the Residences at Pier 27

Another view of the west end of the giant excavation


the Residences at Pier 27

Break time? Idle earth movers at the top of the excavation


the Residences at Pier 27

Several huge mounds of dirt still must be removed


the Residences at Pier 27

Pier 27 residents with east-facing units will get to enjoy this view of the Redpath sugar refinery (along with the peculiar, syrupy odour that permeates the air)


the Residences at Pier 27

Concrete pumper working at the Pier 27 site February 18 2011


the Residences at Pier 27

A solitary excavating machine digs away at the south side of the enormous hole


the Residences at Pier 27

This is the east side of the excavation, next to the Redpath property


the Residences at Pier 27

On the edge: the concrete truck pumps away


the Residences at Pier 27

Another view of the concrete pumper truck