130 Bloor Street West Renovation Project

[WHISTLERINMUSKOKA]

130 Bloor Street West Renovation Project

This project consists of reinforcing the structural steel core of an occupied 14-storey building, thereby providing capacity to add 6 new residential floors. Existing floors 11 and 12 will be converted from office to residential. The current two-storey residential penthouse on levels 13 and 14 will remain. The 6 new levels that are being added will include shell space for 9 new residential suites. The new levels will be made up of structural steel with concrete on metal deck. The envelope will consist of a combination of curtain wall and limestone. The existing elevators within the building will be replaced and reconfigured to serve the new levels. Mechanical heating and cooling systems will be replaced with the existing distribution systems being reefed. Current electrical supply will be upgraded to a high voltage feed with new distribution being provided throughout the building. The ground floor will be reconfigured to provide additional retail space.

http://canada.pcl.com/media/files/Projects/09_Toronto/0900352_1_300.jpg

[caltrane74]

neato!!

[WHISTLERINMUSKOKA]

I wonder how the current penthouse owner on 12-13 feels about losing the penthouse status?

[caltrane74]

Well at least they cant complain someone is destroying their view.

[samne]

Toronto's really getting some great infill projects lately. Building on top of buildings...I love it!

[psychosomatic]

interesting design, reminds me of structure built in Montreal for the world's fair.
http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/4559/montreal2203km1iu1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[shappy]

interesting. Looks cool... I like it.

[WhipperSnapper]

disgusting

[caltrane74]

No one will see this thing anyway. you will have to look. Not tall enough to be an eyesore, not close enough to the ground for anyone to notice.

[WHISTLERINMUSKOKA]

disgusting

I'm a bit surprised by your comment goodlookin. It's an interesting concept that will ad more density to the downtown.

[WhipperSnapper]

you have a very modern box with a clashing post modern base and now they want to build this 3rd world-esque looking addtion on top? It looks as bad as Bloor Dundas Square

and the concept of adding storeys to existing buildings in our urban areas occurs more often than not

[WHISTLERINMUSKOKA]

Hey man I completely respect your opinion; I just didn’t think you of all people would have been the first to comment negatively about this proposal. I fyou want to see a real mish mash of styles check out the hotel germain proposal for Calgary.

[shappy]

it has interesting texture. It should add a lot visually to the street.

[caltrane74]

Whistler, goodlookin has never heard of third world chic.

[habsfan]

freaky looking building, but i like it!

[WHISTLERINMUSKOKA]

Reminds me of Tokyo.

[habsfan]

whistler,

do you now if they will reclad the bottom portion of the building? Will they use some newer materials to refinish the exterior?

[WhipperSnapper]

Reminds me of Tokyo

that's it ( forget about the S American shantytown on a steep slope thing)

quote]I fyou want to see a real mish mash of styles check out the hotel germain proposal for Calgary.
[/quote]

seen it - the b/w rendering didn't look too bad but the colour one was quite awkward

[icescraper]

The top is amazing but coupled to the bottom Ugh!!!! These styles couldn't clash more if the bottom was midieval. Sorry but this is some developer's cheap idea on how to create expensive condos at a cost to city aesthetics. Sorry to be so negative but then again why settle for crap? - ice

[WHISTLERINMUSKOKA]

Icescraper, you do realize that the base is already there don't you? Pretty sure it's a late 60's office that was converted into condos some time ago. The thing with the base is it's on Bloor in Yorkville surrounded by other 60 and 70 style buildings and fits in quite well. I'm sure that due to the fact it's in one of Canada's most expensive neighborhoods the top will marry the bottom seamlessly. This will be one of those projects that when complete will simply blend in and feel as though it has always been there. More density in the downtown is a great thing and when we can do it without disrupting the architectural style of a neighborhood it should be welcomed and encouraged.

[don_toronto]

This building was built in the early '60's and continues to be used as a Bloor Street office building except the top two storey penthouse unit which has an entrance off Cumberland Street. If I remember the story, the original owners lived there since the early 60's and the couple died over the past few years.

I think it's an interesting looking concept, but I'm not sure if I like it. But it's only a rendering.

[Taller Better]

I believe this is the building that has the 60's penthouse whose interior was designed by Philip Johnson. I am surmising that the unusual shape has been designed so that the very important original Johnson penthouse is not damaged in any way (but that is just a guess). If that is a case, then it is classic form following function. Could be an interesting project!

[don_toronto]

Yes. And part of a recent article about the apartment and building:


From the private elevator, the penthouse's two-storey lobby makes quite the impression. Finished with travertine marble from floor to ceiling, the 25-foot-high space is a dead ringer for Mr. Johnson's famous Four Seasons restaurant in New York. And a series of grand, high-ceilinged spaces unfold from there, including an expansive living room and terrace with a killer view of the skyline.

According to the project's architect, the new suites, priced from about $4-million, will have the same height and grandeur, and they'll echo the style of the space as well. "We were very keen on reinforcing the existing penthouse and the existing building, so we used architectural details that were sympathetic to the building as it currently is," says Brian Curtner of Quadrangle Architects. "The modernist style, with large windows and large planes, we've attempted to repeat while building new stuff above and below it."

But while the building's stylistic pedigree is part of the sales pitch, Mr. Johnson's name is curiously absent. That's because, as Mr. Curtner admits, nobody's quite sure whether the architect himself actually created it. "We're still debating," he says. "We have different stories on that part of the puzzle. There's no record in his archives that he worked on it, but there are people involved who insist that he did.

This puts an interesting twist on the City of Toronto's heritage designation for the apartment, which claims a Johnson connection. Luckily, this seems to be a moot point; in the developers' view, as Mr. Curtner says, "the building is spectacular." And the architects' job, in adding 10 new apartments of 4,000 to 6,000 square feet, required them to save as much as possible.

Quadrangle created a highly unusual solution: in essence, 10 storeys of luxury condos on top of an office building. The penthouse on the 13th and 14th floors is being sold more or less intact, and the two floors below — previously office space — cut back to hold four residences with terraces. Stacked on top will be an irregular tower of six more storeys, faced in Indiana limestone, containing full-floor condos with balconies. The private entrance used by Mr. Torno and his wife, Rose, will connect exclusively to the residences and a private parking area underground.

[Taller Better]

I'd love to see inside that unit...