Tag Archives: Living Shangri-La Toronto condo + hotel

Angular cube frame draws eyes to northeast corner of Living Shangri-la Toronto hotel/condo tower site

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

The large metal frame at the Living Shangri-la Toronto construction site

 

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

University Avenue median view of the cube frame on  March 29 2011

 

Big white cube: Downtown Toronto has been teeming with highrise building projects all winter, but the Living Shangri-la Toronto hotel and condo tower construction site has been grabbing my attention the most.

Its location — where the University Avenue median ends as the broad boulevard tapers and veers to the southeast at Adelaide Street — certainly helps; whenever I look south on University, my eyes are instantly drawn to the site. (Once the tower reaches its full 65 storeys, it will be impossible to miss.) The various bold shades of pink on construction hoarding and on-site billboards command my attention from blocks away, too. So do the angled, creased windows gradually being installed as the tower adds floors and climbs skyward.  And, of course, there’s the Bishop’s Block of heritage row houses at the corner of Simcoe Street and Adelaide, shrouded under white protective wrapping while they are rebuilt and restored as part of the Living Shangri-la Toronto development.

Now there’s something else new and striking to see on the site — a large white cube-shaped metal frame that has been erected on the northeast corner of the property. According to floorplans for the Living Shangri-la’s luxurious amenities, this cube is where a third-floor restaurant and a fifth-floor “revitalization pool” (a feature of the building’s posh spa) will be situated. I’m anxious to see how the cube will be clad; building renderings suggest it could be a shimmering, transparent glass surface.

Meanwhile, the tower keeps climbing taller and is roughly halfway to its final 65 floors. I counted 33 storeys a few days ago, which means Living Shangri-la Toronto will soon start soaring above its neighbour, the 35-storey Boutique Condos building on the west side of Simcoe Street.

Below are more photos of the cube and tower construction progress this week, along with some other recent pictures of the building.

 

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

March 29 2011: The view toward Simcoe Street from Adelaide Street West. The Living Shangri-la Toronto tower will soon overtake the height of the 35-storey Boutique Condos building on Simcoe (top left).

 

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

March 29 2011: Northeast view of the tower, which has reached 33 floors.

 

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

March 29 2011: Tower and cube construction viewed from University Ave.

 

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

March 29 2011: Floorplans indicate a spa pool and restaurant will occupy the distinctively-shaped structure at the northeast corner of the hotel-condo complex.

 

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

March 29 2011: Another northeast view of the cube

 

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

March 29 2011: The condo-hotel tower and the cube add interesting angles to the University Avenue streetscape.

 

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

March 29 2011: Another view of the cube from the University Avenue median

 

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

March 29 2011: Pinks signs atop the Living Shangri-la Toronto tower reflect off the eastern glass wall of the Boutique Condos tower on Simcoe Street.

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

March 29 2011: The upper east side of the Living Shangri-la Toronto tower

 

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

March 29 2011: The top of the tower (so far), viewed from the northeast

 

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

March 29 2011: Tower construction viewed from the west along Adelaide Street

 

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

March 14 2011: Living Shangri-la Toronto construction viewed from a laneway between Nelson Street and Adelaide Street West, behind Boutique Condos

 

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

March 29 2011: Wraps on the Bishop’s Block heritage house being rebuilt

 

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

March 29 2011: West side of the Living Shangri-la Toronto tower

 

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

March 14 2011: Simcoe Street view of the west side of the complex

 

Living Shangri-la Toronto hotel condo tower

March 14 2011: Simcoe Street view of the Living Shangri-la Toronto lower levels

Living Shangri-la Toronto condo hotel tower

March 29 2011: Living Shangri-la viewed from University Ave. near Dundas St.


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