Now over two years into construction, Parallax Investment Corporation's Theory Condos stands tall—if not quite as tall as it will—at the southeast corner of College and Beverley in Downtown Toronto. Designed by IBI Group, the mixed-use development is fast approaching its final height, as the installation of exterior finishes reveals departures from the rendered aesthetic advertised in the lead-up to construction.
The project has been under construction since early 2018, and we last checked in on its progress in January, when forming reached the 14th floor, and exterior finishes had just begun to be applied to the podium levels. Five months later, and the tower has roughly doubled in height. Now standing 29 storeys tall, just one residential floor and a mechanical penthouse level remain before the tower tops out at a 102-metre height.
Cladding installation has progressed far since January, now installed as high as the 23rd storey. Theory is being finished in a window wall of clear vision glass—with intermittent dark grey tinted bays—with charcoal grey spandrel panels and mullions.
What appeared as protruding sections of windows in marketing renderings (see below) has been realized instead through the variation in the tonality of glazing, while what was suggested by the vast expanses of glass as being curtain wall applied to the office floors of the podium, has been clad in window wall like the rest of the building.
Once complete, the project will bring 243 condominium units to the site, along with a retail and commercial component that will help to reanimate and bring employment back to the block that formerly contained a mixed-use office/retail building.
You can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like to, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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