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Is it possible to be nostalgic for things that have never existed yet? A funny thing here at Urban Toronto is that we get attached to buildings before they have even been built: the renderings, some photorealistic, some not, add these projects to our mental maps of the city, and then we wait impatiently to show off our completed new favourites to friends. "Have you seen the L Tower yet?" "That's just a construction site." "Oh yeahhhhhhh..."
It does not help that the process sometimes takes longer than we would prefer, and word of newer phases can reach our ears before the original phases are built. That's the case with Waterlink at Pier 27 currently. Our last couple of stories on this rather exciting project have focused on phases that aren't even in sales yet, let alone under construction. So maybe it's time to remind ourselves of what is underway on this lakefront site now, and dig out some of those original renderings that got us talking about this project in the first place... and take a little nostalgia trip to a place that does not even exist yet.
Waterlink at Pier 27 are two pairs of linked buildings that will rise alongside the harbour at the base of Yonge Street. Developed by Cityzen and Fernbrook Homes, the buildings are designed by noted Toronto modernist architect Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance. Units in the buildings mainly face east and west, affording every resident with at least an angled view of the water, while some units will perch in spectacular fashion cantilevered above a dozen storeys the ground in three-storey bridges linking each pair of buildings. You don't see that everyday.
We'll start our tour by swooping in from the east...
The southwest buildings are the first phase of the project. Including the linking bridge, they are 14 storeys tall. The bridge contains penthouse units.
The opposite view of the same pair: the southwest buildings from the north, looking towards the harbour.
We swing around to the east side for a view to the west, although in reality this view will never materialize: the second phase southeast buildings are being constructed concurrently, and they are closer to the first phase than the viewpoint in this rendering.
This rendering brings us down to ground level for a close look at the fronts of the townhomes that are merely glimpsed in the rendering above.
This viewpoint is from high in the more easterly of the southwest pair of buildings, looking through the courtyard towards the harbour.
Down at ground level in the courtyard, we look to the southeast towards the outdoor pool.
As mentioned above, the second phase, a pair of buildings in the southeast corner of the site, are also under construction now. Here we look northeast from in front of the overhanging first phase.
Looking north towards the phase two buildings, we can see how long and narrow the most easterly component of the project is. This building, the only one currently being built all the way up to Queens Quay, will form a wall to separate the residential and park uses here from the industrial uses of the Redpath sugar plant to the east. Units in the building will face west and south only, as the east side will be taken up by hallways. The east wall facing Redpath will not be blank: clerestory windows will let light into the halls and keep the facade visually interesting from the east.
If you want a look at the east side, and many more views of the project as a whole, check out the video created for Waterlink at Pier 27: http://www.youtube.com/user/CityzenG...20/JD7Cabd2tN8
So what does it all look like at the moment? Currently, the site is a giant excavation pit on the shore on Toronto Harbour, with two cranes erected, where eventually there will be several.
Meanwhile back in renderworld, the light is dropping, and we again take in the southwest buildings, first looking north from the harbour...
and then look southeast from the boat slip and across the park.
Fade to black...
What do you think of Waterlink at Pier 27? Leave a comment here, or click the link below to join in the discussion at UrbanToronto's thread for the project.
This article was originally published in forum thread: Waterlink at Pier 27 (25 Queen's Quay E, Fernbrook/Cityzen, 2 or 4x 14s, aA)
| Related Companies: | architects—Alliance, Isotherm Engineering Ltd., Jablonsky, Ast and Partners, Walters Group |
