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78 | OCTOBER 2018 Toronto Marriott Markham PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY THE REMINGTON GROUP INC. Toronto Marriott Markham by PETER STENNING O n its website, Marriott International describes its new Canadian hotel thusly; "Illuminating the heart of downtown Markham, the all-new Toronto Marriott Markham reflects Marriott's latest design concepts and stands tall with sophisticated rooms and premium amenities. From hardwood floors to contemporary art pieces, every inch of the hotel is sustainably designed for comfort and convenience." There is considerable excitement within hotelier circles about the new branding (a cozy boutique esthetic with a distinctly urban flair) exhib- ited by Toronto Marriott Markham, one that the company will use as a template for other properties. But on a grander scale, the hotel is a key anchor in the City of Markham's long-term vision for a vibrant, intensive, mixed-used downtown – which Toronto Marriott Markham's owner, The Remington Group Inc., and architect Quadrangle Architects, are busy bringing to life. Quadrangle principal Sheldon Levitt explains, "The hotel is a major part of one of the largest master-planned develop- ments in Canada, a $3-billion, 250-acre pedestrian/transit-oriented, mixed-use urban downtown that will see the largest concentration of mixed-use LEED down- town projects in North America, along with 10,000 residential units, three- million square feet of office space, and two-million square feet of retail." As such, the hotel was designed to be part residential condominiums, with ground level retail to augment its 209 hotel guest rooms, 11 suites, and over 9,500 square feet of meeting space. The hotel and condos appear as a series of intricately stacked horizon- tal glazing forms rising from an equally intricate podium; the entire mass is defined by a seemingly random pat- tern of horizontal balconies and jutting showcase window features. Inside the hotel, each Marriott guest room offers a spacious and upgraded look; input from consumers led to the creation of locally inspired accents, for a sense of place. Closets are open, and the work surfaces allow guests to freely move and use technology wher- ever they desire. Levitt, whose company was the architect for the overall building and guest suites (II By IV Design was responsible for the public spaces), says, "We settled on a Millennial focus for the guest suites, whose preferences include having everything in sight and plenty of plugs for mobile devices. Instead of carpets, we selected wood floors for a clean look and ease of main- tenance. The walls are panelled, and we created many usable ledges and surfaces. Altogether, this amounts to an open, sharp appearance." Levitt explains one main difference between Marriott's new branding and the old one. "Usually, full service hotels are in excess of 300 rooms, but this one is only 209 to impart a more intimate guest experience. Of course, there was a tremendous amount of back and forth between the architects and Marriott during the design stage, but they were confident enough to give us plenty of creative freedom, having already conducted intensive studies on what hotels and rooms of the future would look like." Keith Rushbrook, partner at II By IV Design, says his relationship with Toronto Marriott Markham goes back six years; working with the hotelier and Remington "was exciting consid- ering they were rethinking the guest experience, from reception to ameni- ties such as the pool, and right down to the colour schemes – the latter of which evolved into a palette of greys with accents of aubergine and teal. It was a great opportunity to discuss move- ment, placement of elevators, and the proper proportions of public spaces." While most of this work would be appreciated on a subliminal level by guests, II By IV Design achieved at least one visual showcase that helps define the new hotel: its "Greatroom" area boasts a light installation in the shape of a dragon's tail, hand-crafted from glass. Inspired by a Chinese con- stellation, the light would illuminate an area that is intended to become the hotel's hub, which will include a bar, restaurant, and a bourbon program. "Markham has a huge Asian commu- nity, and this was one way to represent it," says Rushbrook. As for the building itself, Quadrangle developed a massive, seven-storey podium "with distinct vertical coloured metal panels and big glass boxes indicating the pool, meet- ing room, terrace, and other important areas," according to Levitt. "The hotel building begins as a square sur- rounded by the podium's retail space, and rises above that into a C-shape, with the condos emerging as a flat slab in the cup of the C-shape." The grand floor bar/restaurant and the upper floor ballroom would have huge glazed expanses overlook- ing an inner courtyard; as for access, grand floor retail would have multiple entrances, while the condo entrance would be street facing and the hotel entry accessed via the courtyard. John Skalenda, project manager for Remington (which was also the gen- eral contractor of the project), says one of the biggest challenges was that his team had worked exclusively on build- ing condos, "so this was a big learning curve for us, and we relied on a terrific group of consultants." Another challenge was that dur- ing construction Marriott decided to revamp its guest suite standards. "We had just completed the structure and had begun mechanical/electrical rough-ins," says Skalenda. "There was a bit of reconfiguration, but fortunately over a period of four months we were able to retain the existing rough-ins and satisfy Marriott's standards with- out resorting to its in-house designers, a process that would have taken a year and caused us to miss our deadlines." Skalenda says construction was characterized more by benefits than challenges: "For example, the site was surrounded by undeveloped land, so we had plenty of space for staging, which is rare for a project of this size." Skalenda and his colleagues handed over the completed facility on April 4 of this year, "and it was satisfying when several Marriott executives told us the hotel turned out much better than even they had anticipated." Indeed, during the grand opening on June 12, Paul Cahill, area Vpof Eastern Canada for Marriott International, summarized his company's enthu- siasm for the finished product by stating that, "Marriott Hotels has con- sistently pushed the boundaries of innovation in travel to create expe- riences that inspire and drive our guests' creativity; the new Toronto Marriott Markham has accomplished a forward-thinking guest experience coupled with esthetically pleasing spaces, and we know their guests will be thrilled." A LOCATION 170 Enterprise Boulevard, Markham, Ontario OWNER/DEVELOPER/ GENERAL CONTRACTOR The Remington Group Inc. HOTEL OPERATOR Marriott International ARCHITECT Quadrangle Architects STRUCTURAL CONSULTANT Jablonsky, Ast and Partners MECHANICAL/ ELECTRICAL CONSULTANT ABLE Engineering INTERIOR DESIGN (PUBLIC AMENITIES) II BY IV DESIGN TOTAL SIZE 192,000 square feet TOTAL COST Undisclosed Tehilla.indd

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