Category Archives: College and University campuses

U Condos townhouse & tower construction asserts strong visual presence along Bay & St Mary Streets

U Condos construction viewed from Bay Street

August 17 2013: Above-ground construction is still in relatively early stages, but the U Condos condo tower and luxury townhouse complex … 

 

U Condos site viewed from Bay & Irwin Streets

… has already drastically transformed the southwest corner of Bay and St Mary Streets, seen here on September 26 2008 when a surface parking lot still occupied part of the development site

 

 

Strong presence: Construction of the U Condominiums complex is really beginning to turn heads on Bay Street now that one of its two towers is climbing steadily higher above its 3-storey podium and the concrete shells for luxurious townhouses that will wrap around three sides of the property.

Although passersby have been able to see above-ground construction activity since January, it has been only in recent weeks that the huge scale of the project — and the tremendous visual impact it will have on the neighbourhood — have become apparent.

The project’s  townhouse component has noticeably changed the pedestrian experience on Bay Street, while the west tower — which has climbed more than six storeys on its way to 45 — already hints at how drastically it and the even taller east tower will change the neighbourhood skyline. (Construction of the east tower has so far reached only as high as the townhouses.)

 

U Condos at Bay & St Mary Streets in Toronto

This artistic illustration, from an online promotional brochure that had been available on the U Condos website, shows how the completed towers will look when viewed from the same perspective as the two photos above.

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Construction of Ryerson’s Student Learning Centre starts climbing into view at Yonge & Gould

Ryerson Student Learning Centre construction

July 25 2013: A man walks past a wall taking shape at the Ryerson University Student Learning Centre construction site at the northeast corner of Yonge & Gould Streets. The circle on the architectural rendering below shows this particular wall’s location along the east side of Yonge.

 

 

An architectural rendering of the Ryerson University Student Learning Centre now under construction at Yonge & Gould Streets

Click on the image to view a full-size version. The rendering, by project architects Zeidler Partnership Architects of Toronto and Snøhetta of Oslo and New York City, is one of several on the Ryerson University website.

 

 

Above grade: Now that construction has climbed into view above street level, people passing by the intersection of Yonge & Gould Streets are getting a glimpse of some key design elements of the Ryerson University Student Learning Centre.

From Gould Street as well as from Yonge Street just south of Gould, passersby can now clearly see construction crews working on the steps that will lead to an elevated entrance plaza on the south side of the university building. Meanwhile, construction forms for the Centre’s west wall along Yonge Street have started to become visible above the Urban Umbrella scaffold protecting the sidewalk on the east side of Yonge.

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Winter building pics: March 2013

 My March 2013 album on Flickr features more than 500 photos showing dozens of downtown construction projects and building sites. Click once on the image above to view a small-format slideshow of the pictures, or click twice to access the actual album where you can view individual full-size photos with captions.

 

 

Frozen fingers: It’s only a few days into spring and I’m still sorting through hundreds of building and construction photos I took during the winter. What has struck me the most is how gloomy and grey the city looked most of the time. Sunny, clear days were few and far between — and when they came, it was usually too bitterly cold and windy for me to risk freezing my fingers by wandering around with my camera.

I did manage a few long photo walks, though, and have been gradually posting the pics in albums on thetorontoblog.com’s Flickr photostream.  Above is a link to my fourth winter photo album, March 2013.

 

 

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Winter building pics: December 2012

Above is a link to my December 2012 Flickr album of building and construction photos I shot during walks in the downtown area. Click once on the image to view a small-format slideshow of the pictures, or click twice to access the album and see full-size photos and captions.

 

Goldring Student Centre enhances streetscape on U of T’s Victoria University campus

Golding Student Centre

August 14 2011: Excavation was still in early stages when I shot this photo just two and a half months after the official groundbreaking for the Goldring Student Centre at Victoria University on the University of Toronto campus …

 

Goldring Student Centre

… today, 1.5 years later, construction crews have nearly finished applying stone cladding to the exterior of the 3-storey structure on Charles Street West

 

Goldring Student Centre

Architectural illustrations on a billboard at the construction site show how the new Goldring Student Centre and its landscaped quad will look when complete. The building was designed by Toronto’s Moriyama & Teshima Architects. 

 

Looking good: A new student social centre and meeting facility is shaping into a handsome addition to the Charles Street landscape on the Victoria University campus at U of T.

As installation of exterior stone cladding nears completion at the Goldring Student Centre, the 3-storey building already looks completely at home in its surroundings, fitting in well with the McKinsey and Company building next door and the Isabel Bader Theatre across the street — both of which also boast attractive stone finishes. I love the look of both those buildings, and think the new Goldring Student Centre nicely complements its neighbours and enhances the streetscape along Charles West.

 

 

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Massive retail complex with condo tower in the works for SE corner of Yonge & Gould Streets

335 Yonge Street

This illustration, from an online CBRE flyer, shows a mixed-use condo, retail and commercial development project being planned for the southeast corner of Yonge and Gould Streets

 

335 Yonge Street 335 Yonge Street December 25 2012 518 px  IMG_0705

December 25 2012: The redevelopment site includes the vacant corner lot at 335 Yonge St., where the Empress Hotel heritage building once stood, and the adjacent 3-storey HMV retail building at 333 Yonge. At rear is the hulking 10 Dundas East restaurant, retail and cinema complex, formerly known as Toronto Life Square, that occupies the remainder of the block bounded by Yonge, Gould, Victoria and Dundas Streets.

 

335 Yonge Street

December 21 2010: A view of the historic Empress Hotel building at 335 Yonge Street only two weeks before it was destroyed in a fire set by a serial arsonist

 

335 Yonge Street

January 7 2011: A demolition machine razes the fire-ravaged remains of 335 Yonge only four days after the heritage building was set ablaze

 

Arsonist sentenced, redevelopment proposed: Only days after an arsonist was sentenced to prison for torching a heritage building at the southeast corner of Yonge and Gould Streets, signs have been posted on the property to advertise potential leasing opportunities in a major retail and condo redevelopment project being considered for the prime downtown site.

On December 14, convicted “serial arsonist” Stewart Poirier, 53, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for setting a blaze that destroyed the historic Empress Hotel building at 335 Yonge Street. The 124-year-old building, which was a city-designated heritage property,  was consumed by a 6-alarm fire in the early morning hours of January 3 2011. The fire-charred ruins were demolished that same month and the property has sat vacant ever since, being used from time to time as a construction staging area for the new Ryerson University Student Learning Centre being built on the opposite side of Gould Street. In the nearly two years since the fire, speculation has run rampant about what type of redevelopment the property’s owner, Lalani Group, might propose for the site. Potential plans for the property now seem to be coming into focus.

 

 

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Ryerson Image Centre opens tonight

Ryerson Image Centre

September 25 2012: The entrance to the new Ryerson Image Centre (RIC) at 33 Gould Street on the Ryerson University campus. The RIC opens to the public tonight.

 

Ryerson Image Centre night photo by Tom Arban

The RIC occupies the west side of the Ryerson University School of Image Arts building, the northwest corner of which is seen in this Tom Arban night photo provided courtesy of Diamond Schmitt Architects. Click on both photos to view larger-size images of each.

 

Open doors: Arts aficionados finally get to visit the newest destination on the city’s ever-expanding cultural landscape tonight when the Ryerson Image Centre (RIC) leaves its doors open all night long as part of the Scotiabank Nuit Blanche festival.

The RIC is situated in the School of Image Arts building, which recently won the 2012 AL Light & Architecture Design Award for Best Use of Colour. Originally a brewery with few exterior windows, the brick building was expanded and totally transformed into a showcase faculty and gallery facility designed by Toronto’s Diamond Schmitt Architects. In sharp contrast to the original structure, transparent glazing lets people see in and out  three sides of the redesigned building while an LED system concealed in the exterior double-glass cladding lights up the university campus at night with a regularly-changing array of colours. (See my September 10 2012 post for full details and photos of the building and its lighting system.)

 

 

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Exterior lighting system at Ryerson Image Centre wins architecture design award for use of colour

Ryerson Image Centre photograph by Tom Arban

The LED system in the cladding of the new Ryerson Image Centre and School of Image Arts building on Gould Street glows red in this photograph by Tom Arban

 

Ryerson Image Centre multi-colour lighting photograph by Tom Arban

… and offers a bold multicoloured pattern as seen in this Tom Arban photo

 

Light fantastic: One of my favourite new downtown buildings — the Ryerson Image Centre and School of Image Arts on the Ryerson University campus — has won an architecture industry award for the colourful impact of an LED lighting system built into its exterior.

The faculty and gallery building, designed by the team of Donald Schmitt, Peggy Theodore, Steven Bondar, Liviu Budur, Zvonimir Cicvaric and Tara Plett at Toronto’s Diamond Schmitt Architects, recently received the 2012 AL Light & Architecture Design Award for Best Use of Colour. The annual award is sponsored by Architectural Lighting Magazine whose editor, Elizabeth Donoff, said of the new Ryerson facility: “The work shows moments of articulated restraint as well as moments of exuberant celebration.”

 

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Class act on the waterfront opens to students

George Brown College waterfront campus

The north side of the new George Brown College waterfront campus, viewed here on August 22 2012 from Queen’s Quay Boulevard …

 

George Brown College waterfront campus

… and seen here, this morning, from the Keating channel near Cherry Street in the Toronto port lands area several hundred meters to the east

 

Toronto skyline

The building can be seen in this city skyline photo shot from the Keating Channel

 

School’s in: Health sciences students at George Brown College will have the good fortune of starting a new school term tomorrow in a brand-new building.

More than 3,000 students, instructors, administrators and other staff will bring the College’s state-of-the-art waterfront campus to life on September 4 — and provide some energetic company to the Corus Quay broadcasting and office complex right next door.

Campus construction started in late 2009 and, at this time two years ago, the building foundation was only just beginning to take shape inside the huge excavation on the city’s East Bayfront. I thought the projected occupancy date of September 2012 was a bit optimistic, but construction proceeded smoothly and on schedule. When I passed by the campus just under two weeks ago, crews were busy working on landscaping and other exterior finishing touches, while students (and their parents) were going inside to register and take a look around.

Designed as a joint venture by Stantec Architecture and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects,  the building has eight floors including a three-storey glass podium and a rooftop terrace. Besides classrooms and office facilities for the health care faculties, the full-service campus houses a health care clinic, bookstore, administrative offices and food service operations.

In a video in the August 23 2012 online edition of the Toronto Star, architecture columnist Christopher Hume visits the new building and comments on its significance both for the college, and for the city and in particular its eastern waterfront, which will undergo massive redevelopment over the next decade.

I previously published photos and reported on the George Brown College waterfront campus in posts on January 4 2011, February 5 2011, and April 23 2011.

 

Shoring & excavation work underway for new Ryerson University student learning centre

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre

August 18 2012: Gould Street view of foundation drilling and excavation activity on the site of the new Ryerson University Student Learning Centre

 

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre

August 18 2012:  The $112 million Student Learning Centre is being built at the northeast corner of Yonge & Gould Streets, just a short distance from the Aura condo tower currently under construction at College Park (center rear). Aura has climbed 33 floors on its way to 78.

 

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre

A rendering of the Centre, which was designed by Toronto’s Zeidler Partnership Architects and Snøhetta of Oslo and New York City. Although the soaring Aura condos — Canada’s tallest residential tower — will dominate the Yonge Street landscape, the Student Learning Centre’s stunning facade will grab plenty of attention, too.

 

Shoring up: Drilling, shoring and excavation work is in full swing at the northeast corner of Yonge & Gould Streets, where the $112 million Ryerson University Student Learning Centre is under construction.

The City approved the project late last year; however, it took until late spring of this year for city staff to issue building permits. Work finally started during the third week of June.

 

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Ryerson University unveils plans to build 500-bed student highrise residence near Jarvis & Dundas

new Ryerson student residence

An artistic illustration by IBI Group Architects of the student residence  Ryerson University plans to build in the Jarvis-Dundas area

 

186-188 Jarvis Street Toronto

February 28 2012: Looking west at the 186-188 Jarvis Street site on which Ryerson University will build its new student accommodations

 

New student digs: A new 500-bed residence planned for the Jarvis & Dundas area will help Ryerson University meet burgeoning demand for student accommodation while bringing more liveliness and energy to a downtown streetscape that could clearly use some enhancement.

The residence — to be built on what is currently a pay parking lot at 186-188 Jarvis Street — is expected to feature a 2-storey podium containing cafés and retail outlets topped by “a 20+ storey building offering a mix of 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedroom units,” the university announced in a media release.

 

 

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Public meeting tomorrow for Ryerson University’s Student Learning Centre development plan

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre

An illustration of the new Ryerson University Student Learning Centre appears on this sign at the building site at the NE corner of Yonge and Gould Streets

 

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre

Statutory public meeting notice at the development site

 

Ryerson ready to roll:  Construction of the new Ryerson University Student Learning Centre could begin within weeks if the development plan gets approval, as is widely expected, during two key meetings at Toronto City Hall this month. The university’s proposal is being reviewed by Toronto and East York Community Council tomorrow morning and, depending upon what’s decided there, could get the final go-ahead from City Council at its meeting on November 29.

City planners have recommended approval for the municipal zoning bylaw amendments that would be required to permit the project to proceed. In an October 12 2011 staff report, they wrote that the new Student Learning Centre will provide “a unique architectural contribution to Yonge Street, and a gateway to Ryerson University, increasing its presence and visibility on Yonge Street. It will revitalize a section of Yonge Street currently the site of a vacant lot, provide necessary student space to a growing student population, add minimal new shadow to Yonge Street and provide retail space in accordance with Official Plan Policies.”

The university has already applied for shoring and excavation permits, and expects them to be approved in December. Construction could then quickly commence on the 9-storey, 155,464 square foot building, which will rise on the northeast corner of Yonge and Gould Streets (the official municipal address is 341-355 Yonge Street). The university hopes will be completed and ready for occupancy during the winter of 2014. Designed by Toronto’s Zeidler Partnership Architects and Snøhetta of Oslo and New York City, the facility will cost an estimated $112 million. The Ontario government is providing $45 million, while the university is kicking in another $45 million itself. Fundraising will seek to top up the $22 million balance.

 

‘A bold step in city building’

Ryerson unveiled artistic illustrations of the Student Learning Centre to much fanfare in April of this year. At the time, the university said its “stunning new building” will not only “provide Ryerson students with an outstanding environment to study, collaborate and discover,” but also will be “a transformative, bold development and an important step forward in city building.”

Although the university received considerable praise for Zeidler and Snøhetta’s daring and dazzling design, the contemporary architecture drew its share of criticism. As city planners noted in their October 12 report, the design received a mixed reaction from residents and neighbourhood business owners who attended a May 4 2011 community consultation meeting, “with some liking it and others feeling that it did not fit into the context of Yonge Street even if they approved of the overall design. The principal objections were to the size and location of the retail space. Many felt that the amount of retail provided at-grade was not sufficient and that the below-grade retail would not function as desired. Other issues raised were the height and massing of the building, especially as it relates to context and shadow impacts, lack of parking, a discussion on the location of the second TTC exit from Dundas subway station, and encroachments upon the City laneway.”

 

Insufficient retail space?

Planners also received five letters that outlined opposition to the Ryerson proposal, generally on the grounds that “that the design was not compatible with Yonge Street, and that the provision of retail was insufficient. Some felt that the design was interesting and would support it in another area of the City. The Downtown Yonge BIA, in particular, sought a significant redesign of the proposed structure to bring it into conformity with the existing zoning bylaw and supply significantly more retail.” On the other hand, Cadillac-Fairview Corporation, owner of the Toronto Eaton Centre just one block south on Yonge Street, sent planners a letter  “which lauded the design and the development of a vacant parcel of land on Yonge Street.”

For their part, city planners concluded that the proposed retail component for the Student Learning Centre actually does satisfy official city policies. “The primary purpose of this building is to function as a learning, meeting and research space for the student body and an important public building,” they pointed out. “Retail, although the primary function along Yonge Street, is a secondary function of the proposed building.”

 

‘Landmark architecture’

Moreover, “the Official Plan encourages the creation of landmark buildings through the Yonge Dundas Redevelopment project,” the planners noted. “The Ryerson Student Learning Centre qualifies as a landmark architectural building and the changes brought to the area place a new emphasis on Gould Street as the entrance to Ryerson. Although the plan encourages that buildings respect the traditional built form characteristics of Yonge Street, it directs any specific change to the Yonge and Dundas area. The Ryerson Student Learning Centre represents a rational extension of the Yonge and Dundas redevelopment as it is in close proximity to the AMC Theatre complex formally known as Toronto Life Square, separated only by an empty parcel of land which once contained the Empress Hotel.”

But the planners were quick to caution that since the Student Learning Centre has a special status “given the important investment in public infrastructure this building represents,” their recommendation to approve the project should not be viewed as suggesting that the City is opening the door to similar contemporary development along Yonge Street.

 

‘No precedent for further redevelopment’

“The Ryerson Student Learning Centre represents an important institutional investment for Toronto and Ryerson University. It provides a gateway to Ryerson University, a unique architectural experience and much needed reinvestment. By providing retail at grade, the Ryerson Student Learning Centre will also help animate Yonge Street as well as providing space for students. Due to its proximity to Yonge and Dundas Square, its institutional use, the lack of significant shadow impact, the location as a gateway to Ryerson University and the built form context, this unique building should not be considered a precedent for further redevelopment on Yonge Street. City Planning Staff find that the proposed building and the rezoning required for its construction is in the public interest and constitutes good planning.”

The Student Learning Centre project is one of numerous items on tomorrow’s agenda for the Toronto and East York Community Council. The public meeting starts at 10 a.m. in Committee Room 1 at City Hall.

Below are photos of the Student Learning Centre site this morning as well as a rendering, from the Ryerson University website, suggesting how the centre’s retail facade on Yonge Street will look. Renderings of the building interior can be viewed in my April 8 2011 post about the project, while earlier photos of the building site — including the iconic Sam the Record Man store that previously occupied the property — can be viewed in my February 15 2011 post.

 

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre

This rendering depicts the building’s retail facade along Yonge Street. The rendering is by Labtop USA Corp / Zeidler Snøhetta.

 

Ryerson Student Learning Centre site

November 1 2011: Ryerson Student Learning Centre site viewed from Gould Street at O’Keefe Lane, looking northwest across Yonge Street

 

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre site

November 1 2011: The Ryerson property is close to two other major construction sites. Cranes for the new SickKids Research and Learning Tower on Bay Street are visible at left rear, while cranes for the 75-storey Aura condominium tower at Yonge & Gerrard Streets are visible at right.

 

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre

November 1 2011: Looking north across the Ryerson University Student Learning Centre site from the southwest corner of Yonge and Gould Streets

 

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre

November 1 2011: The Student Learning Centre will have underground and above-grade connections to the existing Ryerson University Library building (right)

 

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre

September 3 2011: Looking north from Gould Street at the strip of retail shops along the west side of Yonge Street, opposite the Student Learning Centre site

 

Elm Street between Yonge & Bay Streets Toronto

March 7 2011: Looking east along Elm Street toward the Student Learning Centre site. The new 9-storey building will dominate this sightline, rising directly in front of the concrete Ryerson University Library building. Like the library, the centre will be 51 meters tall (including mechanical equipment).

 

Ontario gov’t to provide $56.4 million for new Health Sciences Building at Ryerson University

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre site

June 20 2011: Crews clear demolition debris from the site where the Ryerson University Student Learning Centre will be built. The Ontario government will provide funds for Ryerson to construct a new Health Sciences Building, too.

 

Ryerson growing bigger: It has been just over three months since Ryerson University unveiled the stunning design for the new Student Learning Centre it will begin building later this year at the northeast corner of Yonge and Gould Streets downtown. Now, the rapidly-growing university needs to find a site for a new Health Sciences Building — and select an architect to design it.

Today, the Ontario government announced it will provide Ryerson with $56.4 million to construct a new Health Sciences Building that will feature “state-of-the-art labs and classrooms to house a number of health-related programs, including the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing.” The popular downtown university, which already has 28,000 students, will be able to increase its enrolment by 1,800, thanks to the province’s financial “investment” in the new building.

The university hasn’t yet selected a site for the facility, and also has not yet chosen an architectural firm to design it, said Janet Mowat, Ryerson’s Director, Public Affairs / Marketing and Communications, when I inquired if any renderings are available.

I’m keen to find out if the Health Sciences Building will be constructed somewhere on the Ryerson campus or at another location in the immediate vicinity. (Hmm … I wonder if Ryerson has attempted to acquire the 335 Yonge Street site that has sat empty since the ruins of a heritage building destroyed in a suspicious January fire were cleared away during the winter. That property is directly across Gould Street from the Student Learning Centre site — but might not be big enough for a new campus building.)

I’m also anxious to see if the university will ask architects to come up with another eye-popping design, like the spectacular building that Toronto’s Zeidler Partnership Architects and Snøhetta of Oslo and New York City conceived for the Student Learning Centre. (Full details of that construction project, along with architectural renderings of the Centre’s design, are provided in my April 8 2011 post.)

Ryerson’s  popularity with students has been surging in recent years. According to the university, Ryerson “has the highest ratio in Ontario of first choice applications from secondary-school students to number of places available.” The university has been experiencing a building boom, too, to accommodate its increasing enrolment. Already more than halfway through construction is the Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre at the corner of Gould and Bond Streets, which I profiled in a January 12 2011 post and in an April 2011 follow-up post. Next up will be the Student Learning Centre where site preparation work is underway and, after that, the Health Sciences Building. And since early spring, the university has been undertaking major sidewalk and streetscape improvements to the new Gould Street-Victoria Street pedestrian zone on its campus.

Below are recent photos of the Student Learning Centre site, as well as the streetscape improvements on Gould and Victoria Streets.

 

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre site

April 30 2011: Ryerson University Student Learning Centre site viewed from the corner of Gould Street and O’Keefe Lane, looking to the northwest

 

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre site

April 30 2011: Student Learning Centre site looking southwest from O’Keefe Lane

 

335 Yonge Street

April 30 2011: The empty lot at 335 Yonge Street, where an 1880s-era heritage building was destroyed by fire in early January of this year. This property is situated directly across Gould Street from the Student Learning Centre location.

 

Gould Street on the Ryerson University campus

April 30 2011: Streetscape improvements underway on Gould Street near the Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre construction site (rear)

 

Victoria Street on Ryerson University campus

April 30 2011: Ryerson streetscape improvements along Victoria Street

 

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre site

May 13 2011: Development proposal sign at the Student Learning Centre site

 

Ryerson University Student Learning Centre site

May 13 2011: Looking north from Gould Street at the Student Learning Centre site. This was the location of the former Sam the Record Man flagship store.

 

 

Keeping tabs on … Ryerson Gallery & Research Centre

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

April 30 2011: Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre exterior construction progress viewed from the northeast corner of Bond and Gould Streets

 

Colourful facade: It’s not scheduled to open until September 2012, but the Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre looks more and more complete each time I walk past — from the outside. Inside, it’s a much different story; at night, when lights are on and you can see through the huge windows, it’s obvious that substantial interior construction work remains to be done. The facility, which is part of Ryerson University’s School of Image Arts, will be “an international centre of excellence for the study, teaching, research and public exhibition of photography, new media and film,” the university website states. It also will be one of the most colourful buildings in downtown Toronto at night, thanks to a programmable multicoloured light show that emanates from thousands of LED lights behind the Centre’s translucent glass exterior. The Centre was designed by Diamond + Schmitt Architects. According to the Ryerson University website, the Centre “will have more space for students to mingle, lounge, study and collaborate; improved faculty offices; renovated digital imaging facilities and dedicated production areas; greater accessibility, particularly with washrooms and elevators; and more natural light. Landscaping will fully integrate the building into the newly pedestrianized Gould Street.”  Below are photos I’ve taken of the Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre between late February and today. Additional images of earlier construction progress can be viewed in my January 12 2011 post.

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

February 25 2011: Dusk provides an opportunity to see inside the Centre and view ongoing testing of the facade’s LED light show

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

February 25 2011: Another Gould Street view of the Centre’s north side

 

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

February 25 2011: The west side of the Centre viewed from the skating rink

 

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

February 25 2011: Thousands of programmable LED lights behind the building’s translucent glass exterior will illuminate the Centre at night

 

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

March 11 2011: Another test of the Centre’s facade light show; testing of the light system has been ongoing since early in the year

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

April 8 2011: Northwest view of the Centre from Bond Street

 

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

April 8 2011: St George’s Greek Orthodox Church reflects in the facade

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

April 30 2011: Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre viewed from Gould Street

 

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

April 30 2011: Ryerson University expects construction to be complete in time for the building to be occupied for the 2011-2012 academic year

 

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

April 30 2011: Ground level view of the Centre’s northeast corner

 

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

April 30 2011: A view of the building’s northeast facade along Bond Street

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

April 30 2011: The southeast end of the Centre on Bond Street

 

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

April 30 2011: Northwest view of the building from Bond Street

 

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

April 30 2011: The center section of the east facade is still under wraps

 

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

April 30 2011: The glass facade on the east (Bond Street) side of the Centre

Ryerson Gallery and Research Centre

April 30 2011: A view of the Centre from the corner of Gould & Victoria Streets

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