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Following a particularly extended development process that saw a turnover of proponents due to financial complications for the first developer, Pinnacle Toronto East, a high-rise project over a decade in the making, is now seeing plenty of progress on concrete forming, having reached grade level. Working on a 3.5 acre site on Sheppard Avenue East in northwestern Scarborough, Iron Forming Inc has been retained to preside over the concrete work that forms the structure of the 30-storey, 2-tower development from Pinnacle International.
Designed by IBI Group, the first phase of the development currently underway at Pinnacle Toronto East will deliver a total of 629 units split between the twin towers. The second phase will see the addition of an 11-storey mid-rise, adding another 206 units to the mixed use community. Looking at the progress made thus far, the project is a perfect example of the high level of concrete work Iron Forming has built their reputation on. In a series of videos shared exclusively with UrbanToronto, a combination of time lapse and drone footage documents daily construction on site from July to October, giving us the opportunity for a good overview of their process, through which Iron Forming provides the foundation for a successful development in literal and figurative terms.
Beginning with the July footage, understanding the depth of the excavated pit is difficult without points of reference for scale, but what we are seeing is a pit that is deep enough to accommodate four storeys of parking all underground. The drone takes us down into the pit to examine the existing concrete forms from an aerial perspective, showing that work has advanced further on the northern half of the site where three floor slabs had been fully poured, while a fourth was nearly complete as well, with a few pieces missing in the southeast corner. Meanwhile, the southern portion of the site was preparing for a fresh pour on the third level, where a grid of rebar can be seen in place ahead of the pour.
The video footage from August shows significant progress on the southern portion of the site, where forming then reached the fourth level, making a complete floor slab across the structure. This process is captured in the time lapse portion of the video from a position in the southwest corner, where we can see the crew setting up the forming system that will shape the next floor slab. The crew efficiently installs the forming panels and supports them from the level below, then covers the surface in a grid of rebar that reinforces the liquid concrete as it is poured over the entire form. In the aerial footage, we can see that the north and south sides of the site are divided by a ramp that will provide vehicle access to the lower levels, and that framing for walls and columns is advancing on the northern half of the site.
September’s footage shows more forming work carried out swiftly by the on-site crew, this time for the walls. The time-lapse portion of the video, shot from the same southwestern corner position, shows the crew assembling the wall's forming system that begins with the placement of one of two panels in an upright position. Next, an array of rebar shaped to the dimensions of the wall is set in place, and is then sandwiched from the other side with another forming panel. After that, the form is complete, and is filled with liquid concrete. In the aerial footage, the drone captures the making of the northern half of the fifth floor slab from the bottom, which brings the building to grade level as the ground floor slab. A small area in the northwest corner appears to already be poured, while the majority of the slab can be seen covered in rebar.
Finally, the footage from October shows the strides made on the ground floor slab that tops off the underground parking facility. Moving from north to south, we can see that the area below the northernmost crane will be one of the last to pour, but further south, the crew has made significant progress on the large area in the centre of the slab, which has advanced through both forming and pouring. Looking at the aerial footage, we can see how far south the forming has reached, with forms in place just beyond the southern edge of the ramp. Meanwhile, in the northwest corner, the first structural columns built above grade can be seen as the structure prepares to begin its vertical climb.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow updates for this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more from our Database file for the project, 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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| Related Companies: | Arcadis, Baker Real Estate Incorporated, Geosource Energy, Iron Forming Inc. , o2 Planning and Design, Unilux HVAC Industries Inc. |
