Recently, Urban Toronto had an opportunity to tour the presentation centre for The Pinnacle on Adelaide, courtesy of Anson Kwok, Sales and Marketing Manager for Pinnacle International. Mr. Kwok kindly filled us in on many of the details of this high-profile project at John St and Adelaide St W in the heart of Toronto’s Entertainment District.
Text by Doug Convoy Photos by Interchange42
Construction is imminent pending necessary permits from the city. Pinnacle aims to start digging by October. Excavation will be five levels deep. Site prep will begin in about a month with the relocation of the historic Richard West Houses containing The Fox & Fiddle to the parking lot on the east side of John. (Later, this will be moved back across the street and placed next to the heritage building at 86 John St, both of which will be integrated into The Pinnacle on Adelaide’s podium.)
Hariri Pontarini Architects continues to work closely with Pinnacle International in realizing its vision for the project in built form. Many elements from the original concept have been retained and refined, including the building’s overall massing and distinctive roofline, while others have been dropped, such as the angled support column in the podium and the chamfer in the northeast corner of the tower. The latter would have necessitated deep structural support cutting into important functional space as well as highly specialized and very expensive window-washing equipment.
Materials and cladding for the building’s exterior are still being finalized but the colours shown in the rendering and model are final, i.e. the cladding on the podium will be charcoal-grey to black. The podium will be representative of the area’s warehouse history and will be faced in brick or brick-like architectural precast.
The piazza at the foot of the podium on John St, designed by Janet Rosenberg + Associates, is being fine-tuned in concert with the Entertainment District BIA’s evolving scheme for the John St Cultural Corridor. The balcony railings at the lower northeast and southeast corners of the tower are being developed as art components for the building. The lighting design for the tower's roof is still evolving.
A shot of the model representing the northeast corner of The Pinnacle on Adelaide at John St and Adelaide St W. (The black square at the top of the model is actually a speaker or air intake in the presentation centre’s ceiling and is not part of the building’s design.)
A close-up view of the model representing the lower north and east elevations of the building. The ‘artistic’ balcony railings at the lower northeast and southeast corners of the tower can just be made out.
A view of the model representing the south and east elevations of the building.
The tower’s glazed and angled roofline will be lit.
A close-up shot of the south and east elevations of the podium over the rooftops of the integrated heritage buildings. The piazza, designed by Janet Rosenberg + Associates, is partly visible at the foot of the podium. In line with Cllr. Adam Vaughan’s initiative for family-friendly units in new condominium developments, some suites in the podium will be separated by knockout panels. All other units will have concrete walls between them.
An image of the model representing the south and west elevations of the building.
The Pinnacle on Adelaide’s amenities area will occupy the top two levels of the podium. All common areas in the building, as well as the presentation centre, are designed by Chapman Design Group.
A close-up view of the building’s amenities area from the northwest.
A shot of the model representing the north and west elevations of The Pinnacle on Adelaide. The ground floor of the building will contain retail along Adelaide St W and John St.
That’s it for Urban Toronto’s coverage of The Pinnacle on Adelaide’s exterior. Please watch for our report on the building’s interiors in the Real Estate section.
