For a fan of construction, it has been a pretty cool millennium to be in Toronto so far. Condos have been pushing skyward like never before; we have watched wild engineering feats bring us several outstanding cultural jewels; even office towers are forming new peaks on our horizon again... and we have been enjoying some very impressive luxury condominium and hotel combination developments that have kept us clicking on UrbanToronto threads for a few years now, looking for the latest photos posted by UrbanToronto members; a habit we don't want to be breaking too soon.

When it comes to the new Four Seasons Hotel and Residences on Bay at Cumberland, we've done a lot of looking at this building from the outside: for example, here it is from Jesse Ketchum schoolyard at Bay and Davenport, where the parents association were dead set against the shadow the 55 storey tower would cast on their kids at recess, at least until a ton of section 37 money came their way:

Four Seasons Hotel and Residences from Jesse Ketchum school yard

The architectsAlliance designed and Menkes / Lifetime Developments built Four Seasons has certainly been eye-catching, especially since the cladding has started to go on, so reflective, so blue when the sky is too... and there are those fins we love on the south side:

Four Seasons Hotel and Residences from the south

And since we haven't checked it out from above before, here it is from Panorama atop the Manulife Centre. It's 18 storeys tall now, but it looks small from here:

Four Seasons from atop the Manulife Centre

But where we really haven't seen it from yet... is inside, so that we are going to do, starting on Monday. Please come back and check it out, because after we've strolled through the dramatic lobby spaces, and checked out the ballrooms, contemplated the pool and the spa, and watched a concrete pour on the roof, we're going to climb out onto this thing and feel the breeze...

Construction at the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences

and you don't want to miss that.

Related Companies:  architects—Alliance, CCxA, L.A. Inc., Menkes Developments, NAK Design Group