Construction of the Parliament Data Centre has progressed to a new stage, as crews have now installed a crane at the site next to the Distillery District.

Crews install a crane at the Parliament Street Data Centre, image by Forum member Razz

At five storeys in height this 22,000 m² data centre will include one level of underground parking, approximately 13,000 m² of white space, one floor dedicated to building systems, and tenant offices on the ground level.

The data centre's design, by WZMH Architects, includes a striking façade of smooth and ribbed porcelain panels, punctuated by a glass corner. The patterned façade is meant as a reinterpretation of early computer “punch card” technology, a now obsolete method of data processing.

Parliament Street Data Centre, image courtesy of WZMH Architects for Bresler

After months of planning that included a land swap between developer Bresler and the City to preserve the site of Upper Canada's first parliament building, and a tricky excavation that involved remediating contaminated earth and removing the foundations of gas tanks dating from 1926, relics from the area's industrial past, the site is ready for development. UrbanToronto Forum member Razz captured the progress of the crane installation.

Crews begin installing the crane at the Data Centre site, image by Forum member Razz

The crane's foundations are established at the Parliament Data Centre site, image by Forum member Razz

The crane rises at the Parliament Data Centre site, image by Forum member Razz

UrbanToronto will continue to track the latest developments as work continues and the building takes form. Interested in learning more about the Parliament Street Data Centre? Check out our dataBase file for the building, linked below, or choose the associated Forum thread link to get in on the conversation. You may also leave a comment in the space provided on this page.

Related Companies:  Trillium Architectural Products, WZMH Architects