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It was the end of July when we last covered the construction progress at First Gulf's Globe and Mail Centre, a new 17-storey Diamond Schmitt-designed office tower at 351 King Street East that will bring 500,000 square feet of office space to the King East area, including the new headquarters for the Globe and Mail newspaper. At that time the building had reached a height of eight storeys, now the tower has risen another five levels, with work now beginning on the 13th floor.
Though there are still four more office levels and one mechanical floor to construct, the impact of the development from surrounding blocks has become quite pronounced. As the structure grows taller, some of its defining details are now apparent. The recent removal of floor forms has revealed the indented sections of the tower depicted in renderings, visible in the image below.
Down at ground level, the first panes of glass cladding have been installed on the building's first floor, along the property's King Street East frontage. The clear glazing being applied to the ground level is an indication of the quality of cladding that will be used on the tower floors above. The curtain wall on the tower components will be comprised of alternating volumes of light (reflective) and dark (grey tinted) glass to accentuate the ‘stacked box’ composition of the overall tower.
Set to open next year, the office tower will offer tenants open floorplans will full height glass curtain wall exposures, multiple outdoor terraces, and a dedicated fitness facility, while more firmly establishing the King East area as a vital daytime employment area.
For additional information and renderings, head over to the project's dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided at the bottom of this page.
| Related Companies: | ANTAMEX, Diamond Schmitt Architects, First Gulf, LiveRoof Ontario Inc, RJC Engineers, Trillium Architectural Products, Vortex Fire Consulting Inc. |
