Another condominium development in Toronto's Canary District is now wrapping up construction on Front Street East, a block west of Bayview. Known as Canary Block Condos, the 12-storey KPMB Architects-designed development from DundeeKilmer has moved into the final stretches of construction, with exterior finishes installed and construction hoarding recently removed.

Looking north to Canary Block, image by Forum contributor AlbertC

The building is marked in particular by a row of dichroic glass at the clerestory height along the building's retail frontage. Dichroic glass is made from stacked layers of glass and thin films of metals and oxides, reflecting different wavelengths of light depending on your angle of viewing, and changing through a spectrum of colours as the sun's position in the sky progresses throughout the day. Our previous article on this when some of the glass was first installed showed the glazing casting green and pink hues, while the latest daylight photos, captured in different lighting conditions, show various hues from yellow through to blue.

Canary Block's dichroic glass in December, 2019, image by Forum contributor skycandy

Though natural lighting conditions play a role in the shifting colours of the dichroic glass, they also respond dramatically to the artificial light from within the building after dark. An evening view captured in mid-January shows this specialized glazing displaying a full spectrum of colours.

Canary Block's dichroic glass, image by Forum contributor achender

Inside the retail units, sunlight through the glass makes just as much of a splash.

Sunlight passes through Canary Block's dichroic glass in December, 2019, image by Forum contributor skycandy

Reflections on the sidewalk outside are also going to be a source of colour throughout the year, as the image from a sunny day in mid-January shows below.

Reflections from Canary Block's dichroic glass in January, 2020, image by Forum contributor skycandy

Above the ground floor, the main design element are crimped powder-coated aluminum balcony guards, some of while are solid, while other sections are perforated. They hide a window wall system with bronze-toned mullions framing spandrels and vision glass. Installation of these finishes recently wrapped up, representing the last major steps in enclosing and finishing Canary Block's exterior.

Canary Block's balcony panels, image by Forum contributor AlbertC

Additional information and images can be found in our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like, you can get involved in the discussion in the associated Forum thread.

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