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Of all the firsts in the construction process of The One that UrbanToronto readers have been patiently waiting to see, one of the most highly anticipated has been the first appearance of the building’s sophisticated glass envelope. Late last week, the long wait came to an end as the first panels of the unitized curtainwall system were installed at the Mizrahi Developments 'supertall' project, first in a somewhat hidden pocket, and then this week facing Yonge Street, providing both an exciting first good look at the flashy materials, and an affirmation that the final product appears to be of high quality and true to render.
The first level of unitized curtainwall panels — applied here on level three — come with three main components: the glass window area, a band of ribbed metal grille above, and insulated sections for the eventual application of champagne-bronze tinited aluminum cladding panels that will emphasize the supercolums, the diagonal hangers, and the base of each section of floors where the hangers end.
Looking ahead at a rendering of the completed Foster + Partners design for the 85 (or 94-)storey tower, we can see how the unitized curtainwall system and the champagne bronze-tinted aluminum panels will come together.
One of the first images to picture the glass panels mounted on the building was captured a week ago today by UrbanToronto Forum contributor jer1961. The installation began on the building’s south elevation at the lowest level for the standard glazing will. (Below, the 40-foot grade level retail space has already had its special ultra-clear glazing installed, now covered in white film.). Tucked away nearly out of view from Yonge Street, the panels of unitized curtainwall can be seen at this time reaching as far west as the eastern super-column, and were in place all the way to the southeast corner.
On Monday, the panels began making a more public appearance, emerging on the east elevation for the first time. An image by UT Forum contributor skycandy captures a glimpse of how the process works, with the construction crew actively fixing the panel to the structure. The panel is lowered by a crane down to the second floor where the workers are waiting to mount the panel onto a set of clips pre-installed on the second and third floor slab edges.
As well as the glass window area, this panel is made up of a sizeable section that will eventually be clad with the aluminum panels, as the hanger that holds the floor slab up at the corners passes behind this section of window. The diagram below shows how the next section reverses that, with the area for the hanger on the upper half of that section.
Making quick work of the installation process, the panels reached the super-column to the north by Tuesday, and were pictured in a detail shot that offers a glimpse into the future of finishes still to come. The sections of black insulation material, waiting for the aluminum cladding, can be best seen here. The supercolumns are similarly being covered with insulation before the aluminum cladding is applied.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you'd like, 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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