Squat and unremarkable, the 12-storey office building at the corner of Wellington Street West and Simcoe Street is undergoing a transformation. Maximizing floor space by occupying every square inch of usable space, the building feels over-sized for its lot and makes little in the way of concessions to the street. Designed by H.M Chalinsky and completed in 1971, the building was part of the rapid buildout that occured during the 1960-1970's to meet the surging demand for commerical space in the downtown core. Perhaps owing to the era's low vacancy rate, there was little incentive for developers to invest in innovative design in order to attract tenants. It was also a time when the City demanded less attention be paid to the public realm, so 180 Wellington West was built with little imagination or thought regarding interaction with the city around it. As a reminder for those who are unfamiliar with the structure in its original state, this Google Streetview image from before the recladding is included below.

180 Wellington West prior to recladding, image from Google Earth.

The renovation not only includes the removal of brick cladding on three of the four sides of the building, but also a complete gut of the interior. The windowless north-facing brick wall is the only portion of the structure to retain its original cladding. Below is an image captured after the building was stripped to its superstructure, but before the first floor of glass cladding was applied. In its denuded state, 180 Wellington Street actually appears more inviting than it did in its original incarnation. With the removal of the brown brick and series of small, vertical puncture points where windows were placed, the building shed its heavy, bunker like appearance and relieved itself of much of its weight. Perhaps if a glass skin akin to that used for the neighbouring RBC Building was chosen, some of the lightness could have been preserved. Instead, much of the building will be covered in opaque white glass panels. Below are several images of the reconstruction of the building including the new glass cladding.

A shell of a building awaiting its new cladding, image by Forum member 000.

Installation of new cladding has begun on the lower floors, image by Jack Landau.

Looking south down Simcoe Street. The north wall will retain its brick cladding, image by Jack Landau.

What are your thoughts on the renovation? Start the discussion by posting a comment below or join our Forum thread here.