Toronto Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Toronto | 203.9m | 52s | Lifetime | a—A

Looks like most of the framing is complete for the north wing. Should be seeing cladding very soon.

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Last week, Urban Toronto returned to the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences by Menkes Developments and Lifetime Homes to track its progress since our last visit. We were guided through the busy construction site by Goran Skara, Project Superintendent, who helped fill in the blanks on this fast-advancing but still very raw building complex.

Text by Doug Convoy Photos by Interchange42

Over the next few days, Urban Toronto will be leading you into the amenities and hotel suites and up to the private residences on the highest level currently under construction. We’ll also be bringing you a full span of spectacular views over the unfolding city, which continues to develop at a dizzying pace. To begin, however, let’s focus on the Four Seasons’ exterior elevations.

A view of the east façade of the south tower past the historic Yorkville Fire Hall.

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A general view of the Four Seasons site from the south. At the south tower, construction has moved up through twenty levels of amenities and hotel suites, and an intermediate floor for mechanicals, to the first floor of private residences, which structurally is on the twenty-second level. Meanwhile, the north tower has reached the fourth floor. Construction is on schedule with top-out expected in July 2011.

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A shot of the south and east façades of the south tower.

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A close-up view of the Four Seasons' top-of-the-line curtain-wall glazing.

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A view of workers installing the steel framework for the non-vision glazing panels to be hung on the concrete façades of the amenities podium.

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A view inside the porte-cochère, the focal point of which will be a dramatic, (+/-) thirty-foot fountain to be placed approximately in the same location as the white storage tank seen on the right.

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These brackets eventually will extend fifteen feet out into the porte-cochère to support a protective glass canopy.

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Looking northeast across the porte-cochère to the north tower.

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A view along Scollard St toward the north elevation of the north tower and the northeast corner of the amenities podium.

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A closer view of the amenities podium. Granite panels will be installed up-to the concrete ledge, about one third up from grade. This then will change to slivers-and-slots glazing panels – some with varying patterns and shades of frit, some without – to be hung on the steel framework. Installation of the granite and glass should begin in about a month.

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A close-up shot of the steel framework, which will support the slivers-and-slots glazing panels.

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Closer still.

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A shot of the canopied entry to the Four Seasons’ singular retail space at the northwest corner of the amenities podium.

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A general view of the amenities podium and south tower from the northwest.

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That concludes our tour around the exterior of the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences. Next up, Urban Toronto takes you inside to the amenities and hotel suites. Stay tuned.

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Awesome! I love the effect of the windows when they're open. I doubt many people will have them open though when it's actually occupied.
 
Awesome! I love the effect of the windows when they're open. I doubt many people will have them open though when it's actually occupied.

it would suck to be the 1 guy who leaves his window open (or closed) :p.
But yes, these windows add a really nice touch to the already wicked cladding :D!
Great tour guys!
 
Wouldn't it be nice if a major Toronto project actually had a gently curving facade, like this wide-angle perspective gives to the Four Seasons. It would be a refreshing change to all the boxes lately. That being said, I do like FS and its high-end curtain wall glazing.

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(Courtesy interchange42 above )
 
I love how the little horizontal letter box windows play off of the vertical fins that zip up the other exterior of the tower.
 
You're welcome and our pleasure, everyone! Here's the next installment, text by Doug Convoy, photos by Interchange42:


Urban Toronto’s visit to the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences continues into the amenities podium and hotel levels, which are arranged accordingly:

L1-9 – Amenities;
L4-8 – Hotel suites, Grand Ballroom;
L10-18 – Hotel suites;
L19-20 – Executive and Presidential suites.

The amenities are organized as follows:

L1-2 – Reception, restaurants;
L3 – Main ballroom, meeting rooms;
L6 – Grand Ballroom (which actually is smaller than the ballroom on L3);
L9 – Spa.

Let’s begin.

Approaching the Bay St entry to the Four Seasons on the way to the hoist that will take us up to the amenities and hotel areas.

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A view down the double-volume principal passage through the Four Seasons from Bay St to the porte-cochère.

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Up the hoist to Level 3.

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Arriving on L3 of the amenities podium with a view south down Bay St.

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A panorama of the immense, double-storey main ballroom, which stretches along the entire north side of the amenities podium on L3.

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Another view over the huge main ballroom.

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A close-up shot of the ceiling in the main ballroom.

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A view down a corridor under construction on Level 4, which contains hotel suites.

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A shot of the future infinity pool under construction in the Four Seasons spa on Level 9, reserved exclusively for hotel guests and residents.

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Another view of the infinity pool and expansive spa area, which takes up all of L9.

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A shot of the steel frame for the floor-to-ceiling curtain glazing to be installed on the east side of the spa.

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A close-up view of the curtain-wall system, in which cladding is suspended over the outer edges of the floor plates. In a window-wall system, cladding rests on the inner edges of the floor plates.

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A shot of the future hot tub, for which the politically-correct term is ‘spa.’ In other words, this is the spa in the spa on L9.

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Moving up to Levels 10-18 of the Four Seasons, containing hotel suites, and Levels 19-20, housing the Executive and Presidential Suites.

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Looking down onto the roof of the amenities podium from an upper hotel level.

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HVAC, electrical wiring, plumbing, and studwork are just being installed in the upper floors of the hotel, which are in a less advanced state of completion than hotel levels 4-8.

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A worker completing some HVAC ductwork on an upper floor of the hotel.

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A view of recently-installed ductwork, plumbing, and partitions in a corner suite on an upper hotel level.

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Additional shots of the same hotel suite.

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Sheets of drywall and metal wall-studs are stacked on the floor awaiting installation.

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That brings us to the end of our tour of the amenities and hotel portions of the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences. In our next report, Urban Toronto takes you out onto the first level of residential suites currently under construction, with sweeping views of the city beyond. Stay tuned!

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yes, we need to move away from boxes in a big way... though Trump does have that sort of curve in its upper glass portion.

i was thinking the same!. Trump has a blend of curved/flattened sides. i think its nice that way, because you get a bit of both. and the transition zone between granite/curved glass is executed quite well :)

Brilliant photos of Four Seasons! ^^^ that 4th shot (of the streetwall) is spectacular!. Bay Street is pure awesome :D
 
For our third and final installment for the time being on the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences, Urban Toronto takes you up to the first floor of residential suites on the twenty-second level of the south tower now under construction.

Text by Doug Convoy, Photos and Video by Interchange42

Riding the hoist up the Four Seasons:

[video=youtube;SFEbDMGaQvQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFEbDMGaQvQ[/video]


After climbing the last couple of floors by stairs, we reached the top. This part of the building was still in basic form and open to sky at the time of our visit, which afforded stunning and unobstructed views of the fast-developing Bloor-Yorkville area and beyond.

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On the right and in the preceding image as well, is one of two banks of elevators reserved for the residential floors. A total of four elevators will open directly into the suites.

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A close-up of the 55M rebar used in building the Four Seasons.

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A shot of formwork still in place around a structural column.

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A view of a section of flying truss formwork being lowered into place.

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Now for a swing around the building with panoramic views in all directions.

Looking northwest toward Spadina Rd and St Clair Ave W.

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A shot of some construction activity in the playground / field area at Jesse Ketchum Public School.

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A view north toward Minto Midtown at Yonge and Eglinton. The Florian is under construction at the bottom left. To the immediate right of The Florian is the site of the upcoming Yorkville Residences, where the Moriyama & Teshima Architects building now stands.

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Looking northeast over Rosedale toward Scarborough. In the foreground, Yonge and Davenport promises to become even denser with new towers planned for 906 and 901 Yonge St.

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A view over the construction site of Milan Condominiums.

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18 Yorkville.

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A close-up of the terrace and mini parterre at 18 Yorkville.

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18 Yorkville in context.

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A closer view of Yonge and Bloor.

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Some Four Seasons rebar rises past The Uptown Residences also under construction.

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In the years to come, this view of Bloor-Yorkville will be transformed with the redevelopment of Cumberland Terrace.

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Urban Toronto goes to any length to bring you the latest in development news for Toronto and the GTA. (That’s a pen, not a cigarette.)

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N° 155 Cumberland St.

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One Bedford at Bloor.

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The current Four Seasons Hotel.

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The future and the past are brought together in this image that marks the end of our coverage of the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences. Many thanks to Goran Skara of Menkes Developments for hosting Urban Toronto so graciously.

We look forward to bringing you more hard-hat tours of this and other projects in the weeks and months ahead.

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Glad you liked it Sodapop - I'm just sorry we didn't have more cooperation from the sky! Some direct sunlight would have been quite welcome.

In any case, for buttering me up, here it is at twice the size:

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