Tag Archives: James Km Cheng Architects

TIFF crowd gets first look at Living Shangri-La as new 5-star hotel/condo tower nears completion

Living Shangri-la Toronto & Fairmont Royal York Hotel Toronto

August 22 2012: The city’s newest 5-star hotel, the Shangri-La Hotel Toronto, looms  to the northwest of the Fairmont Royal York, the grande dame of Toronto luxury hotels

 

Star attraction: The cachet of red carpets and Hollywood celebrities is giving a big pre-opening advertising boost to the Shangri-La Hotel Toronto as the city’s newest 5-star hotel & condo tower nears the end of construction.

It’s not officially open to the travelling public yet, but the Shangri-La is buzzing with energy and excitement as construction crews hurry to put finishing touches on the 202-room hotel at the same time as hordes of movie industry VIPs schmooze and conduct business in the building during the Toronto International Film Festival, which opened Thursday.

When I walked past the hotel yesterday morning, construction crews were scurrying on three sides of the building, especially around the western entrance off Simcoe Street where there was an almost chaotic array of activity underway. Construction tradesworkers weren’t the only people rushing in and out of the hotel; Simcoe and nearby Nelson Street were clogged with traffic as delivery trucks rushed everything from skids of building supplies to carts full of fresh fruit and vegetables into the Shangri-La. Contractors, cleaners and photographers were also streaming in and out of the Soho House Toronto, the private club for creative professionals which will occupy the restored Bishop’s Block heritage building on the southwest corner of the Shangri-La property.

 

 

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Living Shangri-la to unveil Zhang Huan sculpture

Living Shangrila hotel condo tower Toronto

May 4 2012: Rising, a dramatic sculpture by contemporary artist Zhang Huan, will be unveiled Saturday at this location outside the Living Shangri-la Toronto tower on University Avenue, between Richmond and Adelaide Streets

 

Living Shangrila hotel condo tower Toronto

May 4 2012: Workers prepare the giant sculpture for its official unveiling ceremony, scheduled for 1-2 pm tomorrow afternoon

 

Living Shangrila condo hotel tower Toronto

May 4 2012: The large-scale sculpture occupies a space at street level …

 

Living Shangrila condo hotel Toronto

… and soars above the glass ‘Ice Cube’ at the building’s NE corner …

 

Living Shangrila condo hotel Toronto

… seen here, from the University Avenue median to the east. This section of the building encloses a pool on the upper level, with a Momofuku restaurant on the floor below. The Momofuku Toronto is scheduled to open in August.

 

Taking flight: As construction of the 66-storey Living Shangri-la Toronto draws closer to completion, the building’s developer is set to unveil the dramatic sculpture it commissioned for the public art component of its project.

Full-page advertisements published in local newspapers this week announced that the art installation — Rising, by Shanghai and New York-based contemporary artist Zhang Huan — will be unveiled at a public ceremony Saturday afternoon from 1 – 2 p.m.

 

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Living Shangri-La Toronto hotel & condo tower construction site signs have the city seeing pink

Living Shangri-La Toronto

Just one of several hot pink signs atop the Living Shangri-La Toronto tower


Think pink: You can’t miss the Living Shangri-La Toronto construction at 180 University Avenue (at Adelaide Street West), even though the hotel & condo tower is only 20 storeys high so far. In-your-face fluorescent pink signs on several upper floors stand out for blocks, and will become even more widely visible across the downtown core as the tower climbs taller towards its 65-storey eventual height.

The building site is tickled pink at street level, too, but most of those signs get attention with a warmer, almost coral, shade that isn’t as bold, brash and loud as the signage higher up.

Hot pink is a colour I normally associate with tacky snowsuits and swimwear for five-year-old girls, not luxurious five-star hotels and condos. But since the high-end hotel and condo scene in Toronto is starting to get a little crowded, getting people to think pink is probably a great way to get noticed. Living Shangri-la Toronto

The Shangri-la Toronto is one of four glitzy and glamorous new five-star hotel/condo towers changing the city skyline this year.

Over on Wellington Street West, the Ritz-Carlton Toronto will be opening its doors to guests this month. Up in Yorkville, construction is moving right along for the two shiny glass towers of the Four Seasons Toronto Hotel & Residences. And just two blocks east of the Shangri-la, also on Adelaide, the Trump International Hotel & Tower Toronto is three-quarters of the way to claiming its place as the second-tallest skyscraper in the city.

But the Shangri-la won’t need the pink signs to get attention once more of its striking blue windows are put in place. Glass has enclosed just part of seven lower floors so far, but already the windows are creating some eye-catching colours, textures and reflections. That’s especially the case on the University Avenue side of the tower, where just several panes of creased glass suggest how stunning the tower’s tall and sharply angled east and west glass walls will appear when finished.

A project of Westbank and Peterson Group, the building will  feature a 220-room Shangri-la hotel and spa on the first 17 floors. There will be 279 condo residences on floors 18 to 48, and 73 “private estates” on floors 49 to 65. The project was designed by Vancouver’s James Km Cheng Architects with Toronto’s Young + Wright Architects. 

Below is a rendering of the tower, along with photos I’ve taken at the project site between September 2008 and last week. To view more pics, check out the Living Shangri-la album on the Photos Sets page of the blog.

 

Living Shangri-La Toronto

Artistic depiction of Shangri-La Toronto’s presence on University Avenue


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Marketing billboard at Living Shangri-la Toronto excavation site on Sept 26 2008


Living Shangri-la Toronto

A passerby watches the excavation activity from Adelaide Street


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Site excavation progress on March 5 2009


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Ritz-Carlton Toronto has a head start on construction at its location below the CN Tower, just a few blocks southwest of the Living Shangri-la Toronto site


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Freezing rain delays installation of the Living Shangri-la Toronto construction crane on March 29 2009; the crane went up several days later


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Construction crane awaits installation on a cold, rainy March 29 2009


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Two construction cranes work the site on March 8 2010


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Site’s southeast corner seen on March 8 2010


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Construction progress viewed from Simcoe Street October 20 2010


Living Shangri-La Toronto

Construction viewed from University Avenue on November 15 2010


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Distinctive angular design element on the tower’s southeast corner


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Southeast corner seen from Adelaide Street on November 15 2010


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Simcoe Street view of construction progress on November 15 2010


Living Shangri-la Toronto

West side of Living Shangri-la viewed from Neilson Street on November 15 2010


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Hotel sign on hoarding along University Avenue’s west sidewalk


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Tower viewed from University Ave. near Queen Street on Nov. 29 2010


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Window installation on tower’s south side January 3 2011


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Windows on tower’s south side  January 3 2011


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Tower viewed from Simcoe Street on January 3 2011


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Tower viewed from Adelaide Street West on January 3 2011


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Tower viewed from Metro Hall park on King Street January 3 2011


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Blue glass, pink signs catch attention on University Avenue


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Windows installed on lower floors above University Avenue


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Signature design “crease” in windows above University Avenue


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Looking up the tower from east side of University Avenue


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Angled windows on east side of tower


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Signature “creased” windows on east side of tower


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Reflections in “creased” windows on east side of tower


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Simcoe Street view of windows on west side of tower February 3 2011


Living Shangri-la Toronto

West side of tower viewed from Simcoe Street February 3 2011


Living Shangri-la Toronto

Pedestrians under construction hoarding on west side of University Avenue