It has been roughly four months since we last covered the construction of Urban Capital and Malibu Investments' Smart House, a 25-storey architectsAlliance-designed "micro-condo" development on Queen Street, steps west of Osgoode Station. When we last checked in on the project at the end of March, forming of the project's four-storey podium had recently been completed, and work had started on the smaller tower floors above. In the time since, the tower's construction has progressed rapidly, with the 25th and final residential floor now being formed.

Smart House viewed from the west on Queen Street, image by Edward Skira

At 25 storeys, the tower's unique geometry has become apparent to passersby in the area, the staggered effect of the building's balconies creates interesting views, and looks like a deck of cards mid-shuffle.

The most recent photos of the development show that Smart House's most distinctive feature, its red balcony glazing, has begun to be installed. Still marked with strips of a protective plastic wrap on it, the wrap will be removed and a smoother look will result than the current patterns created by the wrap.

Undulating balconies at Smart House, image by Edward Skira

With a window wall system of vision glass and back-painted glass spandrel panels behind the balconies, it's the alternately clear and red balcony 'guards' that will really stand out. Project Adam Feldmann of architectsAlliance tells us the red comes from a tinted 'interlayer' used to laminate two pieces of glass together. The clear guards are also two sheets of glass similarly laminated, but without the tint. All balcony glass being applied to new buildings in Toronto is now laminated, a new safety requirement following balcony glass failures of a couple years ago. If a laminated panel fails, the laminate holds the cracked glass in place, stopping it from failing to the ground below.

Detail of protective plastic wrap on the balcony guards, image by Edward Skira

Once complete, Smart House's 256 units will be the first major example of a micro-condominium complex in Toronto, with unit sizes as small as 276 ft², all with custom designed built-ins that draw inspiration from the compact-yet-versatile Swiss Army knife. 

Smart House viewed from Queen Street West, image by Edward Skira

Want to know more about Smart House? Our Database file, linked below, includes plenty of renderings and additional information. Want to talk about the project? You can leave a comment in the field provided on this page, or join in on the conversation in our associated Forum threads.