Mississauga Absolute World | 169.77m | 56s | Cityzen | MAD architects
Dan416
Senior Member
Agreed. The Mississauga haters are more than welcome to stay out of our (newly enlarged) city.
junctionist
Senior Member
Maybe he was ironically mocking the haters. Who calls Absolute gimmicky?
vistaway
Active Member
From today's Post...note that they are not giving any firm completion dates.
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/...arilyn-monroe-tower-find-her-complicated.aspx
Men building ‘Marilyn Monroe’ tower find her complicated
Posted: January 06, 2010, 6:30 AM by Rob Roberts
The “Marilyn Monroe†condominium tower rising in downtown Mississauga is at least a year late, but one can forgive the builders for the delay. The tower has something in common with many beautiful women: it is complicated.
Even if simplified from the original design (pictured below) by Yansong Ma, the Chinese architect who won a design competition in 2006, the building still involves 56 storeys -- not one of which is directly above the one below it.
Imagine you have a stack of oval serving platters. Place one on the table. Place a few square building blocks on it. Then place the next platter on the blocks, turned it slightly clockwise from the bottom platter. Repeat 56 times.
This is the challenge facing Sergio Vacilotto, production superintendent at the Absolute condominiums project, and about 150 tradespeople presently on the job site.
“Every floor plate changes,†Mr. Vacilotto explained yesterday in his office, festooned with schematics, photographs of models, newspaper articles and architectural renderings of the curvaceous towers. “The columns and sheer walls change. They get longer and shorter.†But he adds, “The building is symmetrical -- if it’s comforting to people to know that there is symmetry.â€
Mr. Ma, the architect, originally designed one undulating tower; Fernbrook Homes, the developer, is in fact building two. The first, at the corner of Burnhamthorpe Road and Hurontario Street, is presently 26 storeys high, and will top off at 56 storeys, making it easily the tallest building in Mississauga, and one of the tallest condominiums in greater Toronto. The second tower, to the north, is right now five storeys high, and will rise 50 storeys when complete.
When will that be? In 2006 the developer promised occupancy for the first tower in “summer 2009.†Yesterday Anthony Pignetti, director of construction at Fernbrook, said, “we’re looking at occupancy for late summer of this year.†Mr. Vacilotto, the guy on the ground, greeted that promise with a gaping stare, and refused categorically to predict a completion date.
“We’re less than halfway up,†says Mr. Vacilotto, who sweetly calls this building “she†and “her.â€
“We have 30 storeys to go.â€
Mr. Vacilotto began building here in July, 2004, initially completing three conventional condo towers -- 27, 31 and 35 storeys high. Those are now occupied. In May of 2007 the crews began the first “Marilyn Monroe†tower, excavating 6 storeys into shale.
That was the easy part.
Above ground, “every floor is different, and that leads to the next problem, which is laying out electrical and mechanical systems,†Mr. Vacilotto says. “On a typical building, a pipe goes down and picks up the toilet on every floor. But here we have offsets, different layouts on every floor. The plumbing, electrical, HVAC guys -- every day they look at every single floor as a new floor.â€
The third challenge is structural. Because of the building’s spiral shape, “her†floor plates and columns require far more rebar, or steel bar. Typically, builders can stir cement inside forms to work it in among the steel before it sets. Here, they must use a more liquid (and more expensive) “self-consolidating concrete.†On one schematic Mr. Vacilotto has drawn lines in felt pen: orange, pink, yellow, blue, green, to indicate where the concrete grade changes on the way up.
On the lower floors, each floor plate varied one degree from the one below. The builders right now have reached the “hip†-- the trickiest bit -- where plates swivel eight degrees each. Mr. Vacilotto notes, “We’re into where the greatest twist occurs.â€
Still, says Mr. Vacilotto, “We have a good flow going. We’ve learned a lot.â€
In the heart of Mississauga, repetitive, boxy, 30-odd storey condo towers abound, mixed among squat office towers and four-storey parking garages (I ended up in the wrong garage when looking for my car after my visit yesterday). This remarkable project is certainly a welcome change. Dubai can keep its Burj Khalifa, or whatever it’s called. Mississauga is getting something more winsome.
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/...arilyn-monroe-tower-find-her-complicated.aspx
Men building ‘Marilyn Monroe’ tower find her complicated
Posted: January 06, 2010, 6:30 AM by Rob Roberts
The “Marilyn Monroe†condominium tower rising in downtown Mississauga is at least a year late, but one can forgive the builders for the delay. The tower has something in common with many beautiful women: it is complicated.
Even if simplified from the original design (pictured below) by Yansong Ma, the Chinese architect who won a design competition in 2006, the building still involves 56 storeys -- not one of which is directly above the one below it.
Imagine you have a stack of oval serving platters. Place one on the table. Place a few square building blocks on it. Then place the next platter on the blocks, turned it slightly clockwise from the bottom platter. Repeat 56 times.
This is the challenge facing Sergio Vacilotto, production superintendent at the Absolute condominiums project, and about 150 tradespeople presently on the job site.
“Every floor plate changes,†Mr. Vacilotto explained yesterday in his office, festooned with schematics, photographs of models, newspaper articles and architectural renderings of the curvaceous towers. “The columns and sheer walls change. They get longer and shorter.†But he adds, “The building is symmetrical -- if it’s comforting to people to know that there is symmetry.â€
Mr. Ma, the architect, originally designed one undulating tower; Fernbrook Homes, the developer, is in fact building two. The first, at the corner of Burnhamthorpe Road and Hurontario Street, is presently 26 storeys high, and will top off at 56 storeys, making it easily the tallest building in Mississauga, and one of the tallest condominiums in greater Toronto. The second tower, to the north, is right now five storeys high, and will rise 50 storeys when complete.
When will that be? In 2006 the developer promised occupancy for the first tower in “summer 2009.†Yesterday Anthony Pignetti, director of construction at Fernbrook, said, “we’re looking at occupancy for late summer of this year.†Mr. Vacilotto, the guy on the ground, greeted that promise with a gaping stare, and refused categorically to predict a completion date.
“We’re less than halfway up,†says Mr. Vacilotto, who sweetly calls this building “she†and “her.â€
“We have 30 storeys to go.â€
Mr. Vacilotto began building here in July, 2004, initially completing three conventional condo towers -- 27, 31 and 35 storeys high. Those are now occupied. In May of 2007 the crews began the first “Marilyn Monroe†tower, excavating 6 storeys into shale.
That was the easy part.
Above ground, “every floor is different, and that leads to the next problem, which is laying out electrical and mechanical systems,†Mr. Vacilotto says. “On a typical building, a pipe goes down and picks up the toilet on every floor. But here we have offsets, different layouts on every floor. The plumbing, electrical, HVAC guys -- every day they look at every single floor as a new floor.â€
The third challenge is structural. Because of the building’s spiral shape, “her†floor plates and columns require far more rebar, or steel bar. Typically, builders can stir cement inside forms to work it in among the steel before it sets. Here, they must use a more liquid (and more expensive) “self-consolidating concrete.†On one schematic Mr. Vacilotto has drawn lines in felt pen: orange, pink, yellow, blue, green, to indicate where the concrete grade changes on the way up.
On the lower floors, each floor plate varied one degree from the one below. The builders right now have reached the “hip†-- the trickiest bit -- where plates swivel eight degrees each. Mr. Vacilotto notes, “We’re into where the greatest twist occurs.â€
Still, says Mr. Vacilotto, “We have a good flow going. We’ve learned a lot.â€
In the heart of Mississauga, repetitive, boxy, 30-odd storey condo towers abound, mixed among squat office towers and four-storey parking garages (I ended up in the wrong garage when looking for my car after my visit yesterday). This remarkable project is certainly a welcome change. Dubai can keep its Burj Khalifa, or whatever it’s called. Mississauga is getting something more winsome.
Raptorzzs
New Member
Oh man oh man, I can't wait for these towers to be built. They are almost as awesome as the L Tower.
Conrad Black
Senior Member
And both are from the same developer.
Kraylin
Active Member
These towers are going to look awesome, I am looking forward to when the balconies get added and the twist becomes even more obvious.
khris
Senior Member
Taken Jan. 5th by yours truly.
TorontoArchitect
just here!
wow!...I am dizzy now
Tuscani01
Senior Member
I was just about to post the same thing. Especially after seeing the second picture.
Khristopher, your pictures have captured the twist better than any I have seen posted so far. Great shots!
khris
Senior Member
Thanks Tuscani 
Therion
Senior Member
No wonder most developers go for generic square towers. No builder would want to go through all that trouble more than once.
khris
Senior Member
Well, they're doing it twice here.
Redroom Studios
Senior Member
and that calls for a touche!
yyzer
Senior Member
Jasonzed has done an update over at SSC....all pics by Jasonzed...
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