It has been some time since we last checked in on the construction progress of Pemberton Group's U Condominiums, an architectsAlliance-designed residential development consisting of 56 and 46-storey towers, surrounded by a courtyard of townhomes at the southwest corner of Bay and St. Mary Streets. In the time since our last update, both towers have risen from ground level up high into Toronto's Bloor-Yorkville skyline, and with work now under way on the mechanical penthouse of the shorter west tower, one of the two towers is now topped off.

U Condominiums viewed from the south on Bay Street, image by Jack Landau

The defining architectural feature of U Condos' fraternal twin towers comes from the slanted application of the balconies, which creates an interesting effect that resembles layers peeling away from the towers. This feature is made even more prominent due to the translucent balcony glazing currently being applied to both towers. The balcony glass features a pattern meant to evoke the look of blades of tall grass rising up the façades of the towers.

The shorter west tower viewed from the west on St. Mary Street, image by Jack Landau

Down at ground level, the limestone cladding of the three-storey townhome section is now complemented by dark window glazing, while other final exterior details are also coming together here.

U Condos' east tower and the podium's eastern frontage on Bay Street, image by Jack Landau

The townhomes' limestone cladding is now being accented with the installation of vertical and horizontal strips of copper, which will eventually form a turquoise patina after years of exposure to the elements.

Copper details on the podium townhouses at U Condos, image by Forum contributor Benito

Additional information and renderings can be found in our dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum threads, or leave a comment in the space provided at the bottom of this page.