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At the edge of Toronto's revitalized waterfront, the Aqualuna at Bayside stands as the latest chapter in the transformation of a former port industrial area into a vibrant residential and commercial community. This ambitious project, designed by Denmark's 3XN architects with Kirkor Architects Planners as the Architect of Record for the partnership of Tridel and Hines, is the fourth and last phase of their Bayside condo community project, preceded by the Aqualina, Aquavista, and Aquabella buildings situated to the west.
Since our last update seven months ago, Aqualuna has made significant strides in construction as its two volumes have made their way to their peaks of 17 and 18 storeys. In May, the structure's middle levels were formed, with the northern volume's formwork in place for the 10th storey, while its southern counterpart lagged by a single storey, cranes, positioned over each. The image captures the juxtaposition of industrial heritage and modern construction that characterizes the area.
In June, the northern peak of the building had advanced with an additional two storeys. This phase of construction brings to life the building's wave-like balconies, an architectural homage to its lakeside setting. The formwork ascends higher, outlining the iconic valley-and-peaks design that defines Aqualuna's silhouette.
An August image reveals the intricate step-backs of both the northern and southern peaks, a key element of the complex design that will provide residents with terraces or large balconies. The podium's thick concrete transfer slab, wrapped around the south and east elevations, highlights the building's dual frontage facing the water, a unique feature in the Bayside community.
As summer turns to autumn, a closer look revealed the cladding system's rich copper tones, including those of the building's balconies with their wide pickets aligned to catch light or shadow as they wrap around the curves.
This month, the most recent images illustrate the construction site within its urban context. Behind Aqualuna to the right is the 14-storey Aquabella at Bayside, its terraced geometric design standing in juxtaposition to the curves of Aqualuna, alongside the timberframe T3 office building. Aqualuna's building envelope is taking shape, with the first six storeys above the podium being enveloped in the copper-like finish.
Finally, we take in a street-level perspective, showing the considerable height the building has achieved at topping off. The construction hoist, used for transporting personnel and materials, stands proud of the permanent structure. While much of the permanent cladding has now been affixed to lower residential levels, shoring poles and temporary fencing remain where it is still to be installed.
With construction steadily moving forwards, Aqualuna is still a ways off before it adds 243 new residential units to the area.
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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