Tag Archives: SickKids Research and Learning Tower

SickKids tower brings brilliance to Bay Street

SickKids Hospital will open its new Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning next week. The 21-floor tower, seen here on August 29 from the intersection of Bay and Edward Streets, was designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects in collaboration with HDR Architecture.

Shimmer and shine: When SickKids Hospital commenced construction of its Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning three years ago, the project website promised that the $400 million building would become an “architectural landmark” as well as a “beacon” that would attract the “best and brightest child health professionals” from around the world.

With construction nearly wrapped up and the building set to open on September 17, it’s now clear that the project’s designers — Diamond Schmitt Architects in collaboration with HDR Architecture — have delivered the splendidly-designed facility that executives at the world-famous children’s hospital could only dream of when they began planning the project more than a decade ago.

It’s also obvious that the Peter Gilgan Centre has become the luminous beacon that was pledged for Toronto’s Discovery District — in more ways than one. Standing 22 storeys tall, the turquoise glass tower shimmers and shines at the corner of Bay and Elm Streets, drawing attention for blocks in every direction. It will bring together under one roof 2,000 scientists who have been scattered in six different locations downtown. And once they’ve settled into their bright, airy labs and cheerful meeting spaces, they will get their turn to shine, developing new ideas and sharing research information that will transform the way children’s health care is provided.

The Centre’s research and education professionals, who will begin moving in later this month, could not have asked for a more inspiring and uplifting work environment.

September 11 2013: Sign installation on the east side of the tower. The Centre is named for lead donor Peter Gilgan, founder and CEO of Mattamy Homes.

September 11 2013: A crew continues work on the SickKids logo being installed near the upper right corner of the building’s south face

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All topped off: Final concrete pour celebrated at new SickKids Centre for Research and Learning

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May 5 2012: Construction of the SickKids Centre for Research and Learning, seen here from the south on Bay Street, reached a milestone last week …

… with a ceremony celebrating the final concrete pour for the 21-storey tower, seen here in a screen capture from a SickKids video of the event

SickKids President and CEO Mary Jo Haddad pours the final buckle of concrete

Topped off: A new Bay Street building landmark has celebrated a construction milestone with a topping off ceremony to commemorate the final concrete pour on the 21-floor structure.

The SickKids Centre for Research and Learning reached its highest point of construction last Thursday afternoon, exactly two years after construction commenced on the $400 million, 750,000-square-foot building that will house laboratory and meeting spaces for more than 2,000 scientists, trainees and children’s health research staff.

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In Photos: Aura at College Park

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May 2 2012: A screenshot from the construction webcam for the Aura condo tower at College Park. The developer will need to adjust its camera angle soon; otherwise, construction of what will be the city’s tallest condo tower will quickly climb out of view.

April 29 2012: Aura Condos at College Park construction viewed from the southeast corner of Yonge and Gerrard Streets.

On the rise: “What’s taking Aura so long?” That’s a question I’ve been asked a number of times recently by people who have been waiting, obviously rather impatiently, for the Aura condo tower at College Park to begin making its mark on the downtown skyline. They won’t have to wait much longer.

Aura already has a profound presence when viewed from ground level along parts of Yonge and Gerrard Streets, and in a few short weeks will become more visible over a wider area as it starts rising above some of its highrise neighbours. By June, I will probably be able to watch the construction from the comfort of my condo six blocks away to the northeast; right now, the orange and white cranes atop Aura are competing for my attention with the two cranes on the SickKids Centre for Research and Learning Tower two blocks to their southwest.

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Winter photo walks: Bay/College area Part 3

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February 13 2012: South view of the SickKids Research & Learning Tower, which has climbed to 19 storeys on its way to its final height of 21.

February 13 2012: Ground-level view from the SE corner of Bay & Elm

February 13 2012: Looking up the tower’s southeast corner

February 13 2012: Curved floors on the tower’s east side, above Bay Street, show where six uniquely-designed atriums will provide light-filled meeting spaces

January 29 2012: The SickKids Research & Learning Tower dominates this view, looking north from the intersection of Bay and Dundas Streets

February 13 2012: On the south side of Elm Street across from the SickKids Tower, renovation work continues on the 3-storey brick building at 650 Bay Street …

… where a soup, salad and sandwich café called Sliced is expected to open soon on the ground floor’s freshly-refurbished north side …

… while renovation is ongoing to ready the south side for another business that has leased the premises. A boutique hotel will occupy the upper levels.

Two corners, two projects: While just about everybody in the city keeps talking about all the condo towers rising on the skyline, two projects at the intersection of Bay & Elm Streets show that Toronto’s building boom extends far beyond residential building construction.

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Sea of scaffolding rises at corner of Bay & Elm as SickKids Tower climbs toward third floor

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April 30 2011: Stacks of scaffolding rise more than two storeys high at the SickKids Research & Learning Tower construction site

April 30 2011: A construction worker walks the plank in a thicket of scaffolding at the SickKids Research & Learning Tower construction site

Going from ground to third floor: Since they reached street grade 46 days ago, crews at the SickKids Research & Learning Tower have maintained a steady pace of above-ground construction milestones. On April 19, they completed the placement of the ground floor slab, along with vertical walls and columns between there and the second floor. Two weeks ago, they finished pouring the second level concrete floor slab, and were well on their way to erecting formwork, reinforcing steel and concrete for the vertical walls and columns between the second and third floors. Meanwhile, progress continues on the southwest corner of the building site, where the SickKids Tower first began noticeably taking shape above Elm Street. About 14 days ago, the workers completed concrete placement for the second floor auditorium, then finished installing the acoustical floating floor. Plenty of activity has been happening where the sun doesn’t shine, too. The interior masonry walls of the P3 level were completed two weeks ago, with installation of mechanical and electrical rough-ins progressing well. Interior masonry walls were 75% complete on P2, while on P1 the mechanical and electrical overhead rough-ins were well underway and work on the interior masonry walls was beginning. But it’s above ground, of course, where the work is really starting to make an impact on the surrounding streetscape. With construction approaching the third floor, the building activity is obvious to passersby on Walton, Bay and Elm Streets, and is noticeable from a block away in each direction. Soon, the tower will start blocking some sightlines, including views of the CN Tower from the Bay & Gerrard area. Below is a construction webcam photo showing building activity at the Tower site this afternoon, along with photos I snapped at the beginning and the end of April.

May 3 2011: SickKids Research & Learning Tower webcam view of construction

April 8 2011: Forms for the second floor appear above the Bay Street hoarding

April 8 2011: North view of the tower site from the corner of Bay & Elm Street

April 8 2011: Forms are in place for the concrete pour for the second floor

April 30 2011: Second floor construction viewed from Walton Street looking south

April 30 2011: Construction progress viewed from the northeast corner of Bay & Walton Streets. Won’t be long before the tower blocks this view of the CN Tower.

April 30 2011: Vertical forms rise from the second floor of the tower, viewed here from the east side of Bay Street just below Walton Street

April 30 2011: West view of the site from the opposite side of Bay Street

April 30 2011: Construction view from the southeast corner of Bay & Elm Streets

April 30 2011: Elm Street view of stacks of scaffolding rising on the site

April 30 2011: Soon, the construction will block Elm Street views of the LuCliff tower at Bay & Gerrard Street (rear) and the College Park condo towers at 777 Bay Street (right rear)

April 30 2011: A construction worker is barely visible as he stands in one of the stacks of scaffolding at the southeast corner of the Tower construction site

April 30 2011: North view of the construction site from Elm Street

April 30 2011: The stacks of scaffolding viewed from Elm Street

April 30 2011: Elm Street view of the auditorium construction at the southwest corner of the SickKids Tower site

April 30 2011: Auditorium construction at the tower’s southwest corner

April 30 2011: Elm Street view of the auditorium construction progress

April 30 2011: Looking up from Elm Street at the southwest side of the building

April 30 2011: Looking east along Elm Street at the tower’s ground level

April 30 2011: Looking northeast on Elm Street toward Bay Street

April 30 2011: The SickKids Tower viewed from the southwest corner of Bay & Elizabeth Streets

Foundation work reaches grade at southern half of SickKids Research & Learning Tower building site

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An aerial view from the SickKids Research and Learning Tower webcam shows the construction site under a light blanket of snow this afternoon

Making grade: Roughly half of the foundation for the SickKids Research and Learning Tower is virtually at street level on the southern half of the construction site at Bay and Elm Streets. The north half is taking shape quickly, and isn’t far behind. Shouldn’t be long before the 21-storey tower starts to rise above the bright blue and white hoarding that protects pedestrians passing the construction site on the west sidewalk along Bay Street. Below are some construction progress photos from yesterday morning.

Tower construction site viewed from Elm Street, east of Bay Street

Main floor construction forms have reached ground level

Looking north from a security fence at the Elm Street construction entrance

The gap should be closed early this week when work resumes

Looking north from corner of Elm & Bay Streets

Looking northwest from corner of Bay & Elm Streets

A glimpse of the first underground level, from the corner of Bay & Elm Street

Looking northwest from corner of Bay & Elm Street

Looking west through a window in the hoarding along Bay Street

More foundation work remains to be done at the north end of the site

Walton Street view of progress on the north half of the foundation

Columns for west wing of tower visible above the hoarding along Bay Street

Construction site viewed from southeast corner of Bay and Elm Streets

Keeping tabs on … SickKids Tower on Bay Street

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Elm Street view of SickKids Tower progress January 29 2011

Floor pours: A lot has been happening at the corner of Elm & Bay since I profiled the new SickKids Research and Learning Tower in a post on January 11. The tower’s underground levels have been filling in quickly, and the construction team expects to finish pouring the P1 floor by the end of next week. Below are some pics I snapped this past Saturday through the security fence and the smudgy peekaboo portholes in the hoarding along the Bay Street sidewalk.

SickKids Tower construction viewed from Bay Street below Gerrard Street

Underground levels viewed from corner of Bay & Walton Streets

SickKids Tower construction viewed from corner of Bay & Walton Streets

Floor pour for the P1 level should be finished next week

Underground levels viewed through an observation window on Bay Street

West end tower construction seen from an observation window on Bay Street

SickKids Tower fourth level construction viewed from Elm Street

SickKids Research & Learning Tower design details becoming evident in construction along Elm Street

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SickKids Research and Learning Tower taking shape along Elm Street

Artistic rendering of SickKids Research and Learning Tower

Beacon on Bay: Although foundation work is still below grade level along the Bay Street portion of its construction site, some design elements of the SickKids Research and Learning Tower are already obvious on the fast-progressing Elm Street section of the project — particularly a long, rectangular row of windows in what will be a patterned wall above Elm.

The $400 million facility will feature 750,000 square feet of space and 21 floors rising approximately 117 meters (383 feet). Sick Kids Hospital boasts that its new building, scheduled to open in 2013, will be not only “an architectural landmark,” but “a beacon in Toronto’s Discovery District and a magnet for the best and brightest child health professionals around the world.”

If the finished tower winds up looking like artistic renderings I’ve seen, it should be a beacon indeed — a bright, beautiful building that should drastically improve and enhance a rather unsightly stretch of Bay Street (the site itself used to be a parking lot).

I’m also fervently hoping that the tower will rise tall enough to block views of its next-door neighbour, the Enwave steam plant smokestack on Walton Street — especially views from the south, since the stack stands out like a sore thumb between the graceful curving towers of City Hall.

There’s a wealth of information about the Research and Learning Tower project, as well as renderings of the building interior, at the SickKids Foundation website.

The tower is a project of Toronto’s Diamond + Schmitt Architects. Below are several recent photos showing how far construction has progressed, as well as a rendering of the tower viewed from Bay Street.