Granny
Active Member
2 cookies for Grey. He got it.
1 cookie for Intheknow. He finally got it.
No cookies for Gei. He's still working on it.
1 cookie for Intheknow. He finally got it.
No cookies for Gei. He's still working on it.
Toronto St Regis Toronto Hotel and Residences | 281.93m | 58s | JFC Capital | Zeidler
Patriot
Active Member
Anyone know if the crane is still slated for installation this weekend?
caltrane74
Senior Member
I don't think so, man.
The pit is still full of debris and there is hardly any space. But we'll see.
The pit is still full of debris and there is hardly any space. But we'll see.
khris
Senior Member
Plus they would have to pour the concrete for the crane supports. Maybe next weekend.
yyzer
Senior Member
Lofty plans
Stephen Weir
May 31, 2008
Shoe-horning a luxury hotel and condo tower into the hyper-crowded financial district of downtown Toronto is forcing Donald Trump's real estate company to think small while building tall.
The 924-foot (282 metre) Trump International Hotel and Tower is finally underway and a hole is being dug in a miniscule plot of land for the 60-storey towerat the southeast corner of Adelaide and Bay Sts. A team of architects and builders are importing both workers and different construction techniques to build a $500-million tower – with suites starting at $900,000 for the hotel condos and ranging from $1.8 million to $20 million for the residences – where a five-and-dime store used to stand. Both the hotel condos and the residence condos can be rented out as hotel rooms by owners.
Two Canadian companies, Zeidler Partnership Architects and Wright Builds, have been hired by the Trump Organization to construct one of Canada's tallest residential buildings and perhaps Toronto's first five-star hotel. Their lofty plans must be executed without bringing traffic in the financial district to a standstill, and without hindering other nearby construction projects. The project site – where the old Bay St. Woolworth department store stood – is almost completely surrounded by tall buildings including the oversized Bay Adelaide Centre (three buildings: 43, 49 and 51 storeys) currently under construction right across the street.
The image of billionaire real estate magnate and TV personality Donald Trump has always been huge. His buildings, like his own persona, are larger than life. But here in Toronto, the design of Trump's first Canadian property is a study in accommodation.
"Well, for starters," says architect Tarek El-Khatib, senior partner with Zeidler, "there was concern from the city about the building's parking garage (and how it will affect Adelaide St. traffic). We handled that issue by having an upside-down plan – the garage is up, not down. People will be entering off Adelaide and loading and unloading on the second floor of the building."
"We really flipped our way of thinking," says David Eng, Zeidler's Trump project manager. "In most big buildings, the structure extends deep into the ground to anchor the building and to provide parking." At the Trump, the garage goes up seven storeys from the ground level and has 202 parking spots.
Owners of low riders need not apply for parking privileges; the gradient of the garage ramp will be very steep. "The ramp has been designed to accept a Crown Vic (Ford Motors luxury Crown Victoria automobile) – 97 per cent of all cars will be able to make it in," explains El-Khatib.
The big concern isn't tall SUVs (like, say, a Land Rover with roof rack) but ultra-low slung cars such as the Ferrari, or the Beverly Hills' style 20-person stretch luxury Hummer Limousine, which can't handle the ramp's angle.
But, be it a Bentley or a Volkswagen, no matter what condo owners and hotel guests drive into the Trump Tower's porte-cochère, they won't be permitted to park their own cars. Residents buy parking privileges, not individual spots. Trump valet staff will park all cars in stacked, two-to-a-level, auto storage units (bunk beds for cars).
Hotel and condo traffic enters the hotel eastbound along Adelaide. The ramped porte-cochère takes vehicles up to the second floor concierge station where drivers surrender their vehicles. Condo owners, not wanting to wait for their car to be brought out of storage, have round-the-clock use of two "residents-only" chauffeured S-class Mercedes, which is part of residents' condo fee.
It may be a steep ramp but it will be an artsy garage entrance. The City of Toronto requires that the Trump project spend $2 million on two pieces of public art. Since there won't be any open space, one of the art installations will be a ramp wall mural that can be seen by passing pedestrians.
The Trump building will descend only two storeys below grade, with much of that space to be used by delivery trucks and service vehicles. With its entrance off Bay, northbound trucks will enter the building and drive onto a large turntable built into the floor. The service vehicles will be mechanically turned around so that they can back into the loading docks. This round-house approach is a necessity, as there won't be enough room inside the Trump hotel for even a small-sized garbage truck to turn itself around.
During the day Bay St. is one of the busiest streets in Canada. It will be difficult for trucks to enter and exit the building during rush hours. Shipping firms will be required to plan ahead. Deliveries will be staged to take place before 7 a.m. and after 6 p.m.
The basement is a building's foundation – it is the anchor for everything that is built on top of it. With only a shallow basement, the soaring Trump Tower will have to take measures to make sure the building is firmly rooted to the ground.
"The nine-foot-thick foundation will float on bedrock," explained Eng. "There will be a concrete frame poured around the perimeter and we will use steel `tie-downs' to secure the foundation and we will pierce the sides (with horizontal tie-downs) to make sure the perimeter is equally anchored."
"We are still removing remnants of the old Woolworth's store from the site," says tall/small building expert Mark Garland, who is here from Seattle for the life of the project. The professional engineer and other technical experts have been brought in by Lewis Builds from its U.S. affiliate to oversee the construction of the glass and granite tower.
Since the Trump building will occupy almost every inch of land on the site, there is little space for heavy equipment and no room for Lewis Builds' construction shack. A plan to put a trailer on top of the historic National Club, directly south of the site, fell through. More than 50 designers, engineers and construction experts are now housed in a Lombard St. office several blocks east.
Tight quarters also means that only one tall crane will be erected on site. To make sure there isn't a case of duelling cranes overtop of the city's skyline, the placement of the equipment becomes a safety issue.
"Certainly crane placement is one of our concerns," said Garland. Pointing at a set of drawings, he shows how the arc of a crane currently on the Adelaide site swings within a breath of the edge of the Trump Tower hole. When his crane is erected, the long horizontal boom could easily move into the Adelaide project's airspace.
On most big building projects in Toronto, the high-towered cranes are used to lift wooden forms (used to construct interior concrete walls) from one floor to the next as the building project rises upwards. This is done by swinging the forms out away from the building and then lifting them up to the next floor where they are unloaded and used to create walls for the next floor.
Being so close to busy streets, pedestrians and the Adelaide project worksite has caused Lewis Builds to bring in a building system much favoured in crowded Asian cities, which greatly reduces the need for the cranes to swing material out over Bay and Adelaide Sts.
The forms will be lifted from floor to floor by way of a rail climbing system that is attached to the outside of the building. The tall and wide wooden forms are transported on a vertical set of tracks from one floor to the next without ever being swung out over the street.
"People won't see these automatic climbing systems," said Garland. "We will be tenting the building as we go, and the rails will be inside the tent (a three-storey covering that stops dust and building waste from blowing out onto the street)."
"We won't fill in the garage walls until way into the project," he continued. "We need it open so that we can stage our materials there. We will do the same at the building's Sky Lobby on the 33rd floor."
After the luxury multi-million dollar penthouses have been built (floors 54 to 60), a large sealed tank of water will be fixed on top of the roof to act as a counter-balance against high winds that will batter the tall, thin building.
"The curtain wall windows and natural stone are custom-built but will be installed rather quickly. People will think the building process is going slowly, but, when we start closing in the building, things will move fast!" says Garland, about the construction that began in late fall 2007. (The hotel section will open in December 2010 and the residences in March 2011.)
The height of the floor and the size of the windows are what the Trump Corporation believes will transform small into carriage trade. Each of the 118 luxury residences and 261 hotel guest rooms and suites will have floor-to-ceiling windows. The hotel suites have nine- and 10-foot ceilings, while the condominium residences will have 11- to 13-foot ceilings – surpassing the 10-foot ceilings that are considered premium height. The Grand Skyplex Penthouse Residences at the top boast ceilings up to 28 feet in height.
There will be no more than six suites per floor – with the majority of suites featuring direct, secure elevator access – offering spectacular views of Lake Ontario and the city below.
Stephen Weir
May 31, 2008
Shoe-horning a luxury hotel and condo tower into the hyper-crowded financial district of downtown Toronto is forcing Donald Trump's real estate company to think small while building tall.
The 924-foot (282 metre) Trump International Hotel and Tower is finally underway and a hole is being dug in a miniscule plot of land for the 60-storey towerat the southeast corner of Adelaide and Bay Sts. A team of architects and builders are importing both workers and different construction techniques to build a $500-million tower – with suites starting at $900,000 for the hotel condos and ranging from $1.8 million to $20 million for the residences – where a five-and-dime store used to stand. Both the hotel condos and the residence condos can be rented out as hotel rooms by owners.
Two Canadian companies, Zeidler Partnership Architects and Wright Builds, have been hired by the Trump Organization to construct one of Canada's tallest residential buildings and perhaps Toronto's first five-star hotel. Their lofty plans must be executed without bringing traffic in the financial district to a standstill, and without hindering other nearby construction projects. The project site – where the old Bay St. Woolworth department store stood – is almost completely surrounded by tall buildings including the oversized Bay Adelaide Centre (three buildings: 43, 49 and 51 storeys) currently under construction right across the street.
The image of billionaire real estate magnate and TV personality Donald Trump has always been huge. His buildings, like his own persona, are larger than life. But here in Toronto, the design of Trump's first Canadian property is a study in accommodation.
"Well, for starters," says architect Tarek El-Khatib, senior partner with Zeidler, "there was concern from the city about the building's parking garage (and how it will affect Adelaide St. traffic). We handled that issue by having an upside-down plan – the garage is up, not down. People will be entering off Adelaide and loading and unloading on the second floor of the building."
"We really flipped our way of thinking," says David Eng, Zeidler's Trump project manager. "In most big buildings, the structure extends deep into the ground to anchor the building and to provide parking." At the Trump, the garage goes up seven storeys from the ground level and has 202 parking spots.
Owners of low riders need not apply for parking privileges; the gradient of the garage ramp will be very steep. "The ramp has been designed to accept a Crown Vic (Ford Motors luxury Crown Victoria automobile) – 97 per cent of all cars will be able to make it in," explains El-Khatib.
The big concern isn't tall SUVs (like, say, a Land Rover with roof rack) but ultra-low slung cars such as the Ferrari, or the Beverly Hills' style 20-person stretch luxury Hummer Limousine, which can't handle the ramp's angle.
But, be it a Bentley or a Volkswagen, no matter what condo owners and hotel guests drive into the Trump Tower's porte-cochère, they won't be permitted to park their own cars. Residents buy parking privileges, not individual spots. Trump valet staff will park all cars in stacked, two-to-a-level, auto storage units (bunk beds for cars).
Hotel and condo traffic enters the hotel eastbound along Adelaide. The ramped porte-cochère takes vehicles up to the second floor concierge station where drivers surrender their vehicles. Condo owners, not wanting to wait for their car to be brought out of storage, have round-the-clock use of two "residents-only" chauffeured S-class Mercedes, which is part of residents' condo fee.
It may be a steep ramp but it will be an artsy garage entrance. The City of Toronto requires that the Trump project spend $2 million on two pieces of public art. Since there won't be any open space, one of the art installations will be a ramp wall mural that can be seen by passing pedestrians.
The Trump building will descend only two storeys below grade, with much of that space to be used by delivery trucks and service vehicles. With its entrance off Bay, northbound trucks will enter the building and drive onto a large turntable built into the floor. The service vehicles will be mechanically turned around so that they can back into the loading docks. This round-house approach is a necessity, as there won't be enough room inside the Trump hotel for even a small-sized garbage truck to turn itself around.
During the day Bay St. is one of the busiest streets in Canada. It will be difficult for trucks to enter and exit the building during rush hours. Shipping firms will be required to plan ahead. Deliveries will be staged to take place before 7 a.m. and after 6 p.m.
The basement is a building's foundation – it is the anchor for everything that is built on top of it. With only a shallow basement, the soaring Trump Tower will have to take measures to make sure the building is firmly rooted to the ground.
"The nine-foot-thick foundation will float on bedrock," explained Eng. "There will be a concrete frame poured around the perimeter and we will use steel `tie-downs' to secure the foundation and we will pierce the sides (with horizontal tie-downs) to make sure the perimeter is equally anchored."
"We are still removing remnants of the old Woolworth's store from the site," says tall/small building expert Mark Garland, who is here from Seattle for the life of the project. The professional engineer and other technical experts have been brought in by Lewis Builds from its U.S. affiliate to oversee the construction of the glass and granite tower.
Since the Trump building will occupy almost every inch of land on the site, there is little space for heavy equipment and no room for Lewis Builds' construction shack. A plan to put a trailer on top of the historic National Club, directly south of the site, fell through. More than 50 designers, engineers and construction experts are now housed in a Lombard St. office several blocks east.
Tight quarters also means that only one tall crane will be erected on site. To make sure there isn't a case of duelling cranes overtop of the city's skyline, the placement of the equipment becomes a safety issue.
"Certainly crane placement is one of our concerns," said Garland. Pointing at a set of drawings, he shows how the arc of a crane currently on the Adelaide site swings within a breath of the edge of the Trump Tower hole. When his crane is erected, the long horizontal boom could easily move into the Adelaide project's airspace.
On most big building projects in Toronto, the high-towered cranes are used to lift wooden forms (used to construct interior concrete walls) from one floor to the next as the building project rises upwards. This is done by swinging the forms out away from the building and then lifting them up to the next floor where they are unloaded and used to create walls for the next floor.
Being so close to busy streets, pedestrians and the Adelaide project worksite has caused Lewis Builds to bring in a building system much favoured in crowded Asian cities, which greatly reduces the need for the cranes to swing material out over Bay and Adelaide Sts.
The forms will be lifted from floor to floor by way of a rail climbing system that is attached to the outside of the building. The tall and wide wooden forms are transported on a vertical set of tracks from one floor to the next without ever being swung out over the street.
"People won't see these automatic climbing systems," said Garland. "We will be tenting the building as we go, and the rails will be inside the tent (a three-storey covering that stops dust and building waste from blowing out onto the street)."
"We won't fill in the garage walls until way into the project," he continued. "We need it open so that we can stage our materials there. We will do the same at the building's Sky Lobby on the 33rd floor."
After the luxury multi-million dollar penthouses have been built (floors 54 to 60), a large sealed tank of water will be fixed on top of the roof to act as a counter-balance against high winds that will batter the tall, thin building.
"The curtain wall windows and natural stone are custom-built but will be installed rather quickly. People will think the building process is going slowly, but, when we start closing in the building, things will move fast!" says Garland, about the construction that began in late fall 2007. (The hotel section will open in December 2010 and the residences in March 2011.)
The height of the floor and the size of the windows are what the Trump Corporation believes will transform small into carriage trade. Each of the 118 luxury residences and 261 hotel guest rooms and suites will have floor-to-ceiling windows. The hotel suites have nine- and 10-foot ceilings, while the condominium residences will have 11- to 13-foot ceilings – surpassing the 10-foot ceilings that are considered premium height. The Grand Skyplex Penthouse Residences at the top boast ceilings up to 28 feet in height.
There will be no more than six suites per floor – with the majority of suites featuring direct, secure elevator access – offering spectacular views of Lake Ontario and the city below.
Hipster Duck
Senior Member
Instead of demanding that developers spend that money on public art - most of which is forgettable, anyway, the city should insist that that money go toward improving the appearance of the sidewalk fronting the building. Granite paving and a removal of hydro wires would be a much better aesthetic gift than some ramp wall mural.
simply Dan
Active Member
This building should rise quickly because of the small floorplates.
Mongo
Senior Member
I keep hearing in recent articles that Trump will be 60 storeys. Is this official? I thought that it was to be 57 storeys -- has this changed?
Redroom Studios
Senior Member
interesting article that really gives us a lot of insight into what should be happening as this thing comes together. Should be fun to watch...
and ya, all these new projects should have to pay for new sidewalks and street pavement once they are complete. I wouldnt be surprised if Trump is planning on upgrading sidewalks on their own - all part of the the '5 Star' presentation I would think.
and ya, all these new projects should have to pay for new sidewalks and street pavement once they are complete. I wouldnt be surprised if Trump is planning on upgrading sidewalks on their own - all part of the the '5 Star' presentation I would think.
globetrekker
New Member
Good point.
khris
Senior Member
A large tank of sealed water will be on the roof? I wouldn't want that to start leaking one day haha.
Mike in TO
Senior Member
Hipster,
The city has a requirement for 1% of hard construction costs to be allocated to a public art program. That is what's been described in the article.
What you've suggested with respect to sidewalks is usually secured in the site plan approval stage in which there are very specific infrastructure commitments that must be completed during or immediately following the construction of the project itself by the developer/builder.
The city also collects development charges, which on a project this size will be a few to several million dollars. The DCs go to external infrastructure beyond the site itself as set out in the DC background study and Development Charges by-law. This infrastructure is constructed by the city or city contractors at a later date.
So the city is going to obtain: 1. public art 2. infrastructure improvements on site and adjacent to the site and 3. infrastructure contributions for uses external to the site (e.g. transit, road, water, wastewater).
Granny
Active Member
Actually..Nothing new or high tech here. Extra tall skinny high rise buildings have been doing similar stuff for a long time. The older high rises ( and some newer ones) used lead or layered steel counterweights( sort of like a pendulum). Others use water tanks. In high winds, when the natural movement of the building starts to go zig the the counter weight in the building or in this case the water sloshing in the tank.. goes ..zag. First time I heard of this I couldn't believe it, but it's true. 1 King St. uses a water tank I believe.
MetroMan
Senior Member
That's accurate. 1 King uses one and Sapphire's big blue ball on the top was a water counter weight.
Some buildings make a double use out of the water counter weight idea: they put a swimming pool on the roof.
Some buildings make a double use out of the water counter weight idea: they put a swimming pool on the roof.
khris
Senior Member
I knew that this wasn't new, but still it's pretty cool. I just wouldn't want it to leak though is all i'm saying.