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While there are a few details still to be applied to its exterior, the new PATH network bridge joining the Toronto Delta Hotel and Southcore Financial Centre up with the SkyWalk is otherwise complete, and has now been open for the best part of this month.
The completion of the bridge creates a loop within the PATH pedestrian network, making it possible to travel between the Delta and Union Station in climate controlled comfort in two directions, and makes it easy for guests in the hotel or those who work in the Southcore Financial Centre to gain faster access to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre or the upcoming Union Pearson Express train.
From the start of the project, the bridge has been seen as not just an object on to which public art would be applied, but as an art object itself. Shepherded by Public Art Management Ltd. through a design selection and implementation process that shortlisted a handful of teams, the chosen team includes two artists and an architect. Toronto-based multi-disciplinary artists Jennifer Marman and Daniel Borins and New York-based architect James Khamsi of FIRM a.d. came together to create 'Torque', working closely with Mansoor Kazerouni and his team at Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects to integrate the bridge both physically and aesthetically into the overall plan for the Delta.
The bridge rises and turns as it crosses Simcoe Street to connect with the SkyWalk, mirroring some of the angles seen on the Delta's exterior while amping it up with the snaking black banding that wraps around the bridge. Triangular windows edged in silvery aluminum bands rhythmically punctuate the exterior and provide the contrast, especially at night.
Inside, Marman and Borins have taken the structure's slope, its triangular engineering, and its carefully considered apertures on the city, and created a many-shades-of-grey chiaroscuro passageway that reflects its multi-layered urban setting. The design plays off especially well against the intense railway and skyscraper views seen through the bridge's north windows.
Those walking through the bridge are immersed in this environment of heightened three-dimensionality, something made all the more obvious when walking through the plain white Southcore Financial Centre (SFC) PATH walkway to the east, still awaiting the last of its finishing details. Not everything can be finished at once, clearly, and the last elements within SFC are still coming together, with some impressive pieces to highlight there when complete.
Yesterday it was announced that, pending Canadian Competition Board approval, US-based Marriott will be acquiring Vancouver-based Delta from current owners bcIMC. Marriott has stated it intends to keep the Delta chain separately branded from its other offerings while merging reservations and guest loyalty programs. Delta employees will now have the latitude to move to other positions within the Marriott system. Pending closure of the sale, Marriott will become the largest full-service accommodations provider in Canada. bcIMC will remain the owner of several Delta properties, including the Southcore Financial Centre. GWL Realty Advisors are the Development and Leasing Manager of the project.
Want to know more about the Delta Toronto and the Southcore Financial Centre? Our dataBase file for the project, linked below, includes plenty of information and renderings. Want to talk about it? You can join in on the discussion in the associated Forum thread, or leave a message in the space provided on this page.
| Related Companies: | ANTAMEX, EllisDon, Kramer Design Associates Limited, Trillium Architectural Products |
