Toronto Ryerson's Mattamy Athletics Centre + Loblaws at the Gardens | ?m | ?s | Ryerson University | Turner Fleischer

All the scaffolding along Carlton Street is off and the new marquee/entrance is being constructed in place of the old one. Also, some new openings have been cut into the brick along Carlton to make way for new windows/doors.
 
Through the openings we can see that the first level is now pretty well formed. Escalators are in place. Some interior walls are starting to be constructed. They are still a long way from any finishing work. Interestingly, at this point, the new interior structural elements appear to be about the same age as the old ones. Obviously all that will change once finishes are applied.
 
I don't know what they're doing but things are being lifted with huge cranes onto the east and west roof of MLG in the past couple of days. What struck me today was how small the workers on the roof appeared compared to the size & scale of the building, which we often forget is pretty damn huge!

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.

 
Arg! Ugly HVAC units on the roof! It is a big problem with old building retrofits - where to put the machines of modern convenience? In new buildings the mechanical bits are nicely encapsulated into the skin of the design. Here, they are carbuncles visible to all us tower dwellers who like the clean deco lines of MLG.
 
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They've installed some downlighting on the north side of the building, close to Church. They way it picks up the brick facade looks really sharp, and I hope they install it all the way around the building
 
If they've done it on the north side, then I'm sure they will. The east and south sides are where the most attention will be, so it only makes sense they will do this.
 
I hope Ryerson allows the community to use this building during Pride. I'm sure many events could take place in the rink and gymnasiums.
 
They've installed some downlighting on the north side of the building, close to Church. They way it picks up the brick facade looks really sharp, and I hope they install it all the way around the building

I've seen that from my place for about three weeks now but haven't been over there at night to examine it closely. I wasn't sure if they were testing it for the reason you describe or if it was practical lighting for something that is blocked by trees in front of the City Park Co-op. From where I sit it looks really effective. There were three lights but now there are only two that are illuminated, not sure why.
 
I've seen that from my place for about three weeks now but haven't been over there at night to examine it closely. I wasn't sure if they were testing it for the reason you describe or if it was practical lighting for something that is blocked by trees in front of the City Park Co-op. From where I sit it looks really effective. There were three lights but now there are only two that are illuminated, not sure why.

A few out of focus pictures of the lights, couldn't be bothered with the tripod. It looks better than the photos illustrate.

 
Yep, that's what I had seen. The effect is really neat from the ground because of the way it highlights the texture of the brick
 
I'll take a walk by tonight when I'm out with the dog and get a better shot
 
I walked by today and the lights appear to be high-intensity LEDs. The actual fixtures are very small and in daylight you can hardly even see them. The don't appear to extend out more than a half foot from the building and they are very thin. They have also been designed to fit exactly into the relief patterns in the brickwork. These are probably just test fixtures and they will install the rest when interior construction is more complete. When it's done it should look awesome. I can hardly wait. This block has been so desolate for so long it's practically soul destroying to walk past it.
 

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