Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/734400
OCTOBER 2016 | 63 Audi Midtown Toronto RENDERINGS BY TEEPLE ARCHITECTS & NORM LI ARCHITECTURAL GRAPHICS AND ILLUSTRATIONS Audi Midtown Toronto by LAURIE JONES N estled between two of the busiest thoroughfares in Canada, highways 401 and 404 (Don Valley Parkway), the Audi Midtown Toronto is truly a flagship terminal for Audi engineering and customer service. From the moment luxury car buyers walk through the door, this dealership offers top-of-the-line details and an experience of refinement. "Audi Midtown is one of the largest Audi facilities in the world and this is a flagship store for Canada," says Chris Radigan, partner, Teeple Architects Inc. "The seven-storey structure is very visible to the several hundred thousand vehicles passing by every day. The two- storey, main showroom on the second floor accommodates up to 19 cars. The smaller, more intimate showroom is on the first floor and linked by an escalator to the main showroom." Audi dealerships are designed to exacting standards set out by Audi Germany head office, but the designs are open to interpretation. "We had to take lessons in Germany on how to design Audi's buildings and learn all of their design standards including the interior curved walls," says Radigan. "Even the slopes on the windows have specific angles." The layout of the building also includes customer service and a few service bays on the ground floor, offices on the third floor, the main service bays on the fourth and parking above, all connected with a circular, exterior ramp. "The lighting is one of the most unique factors," says Eric Cornish, senior associate, Mulvey & Banani International Inc. "We installed efficient, LED lights with advanced technology and dimming capabilities, and the quality of the fixtures is high-end. A lot of the products came directly from Germany, including the pole-mounted fixtures outside with various adjustable floodlights to highlight the cars that are outdoors." Inside, the series of LED downlights in the ceilings of the showrooms are dimmable and adjustable. "These can be aimed at individual cars in the showroom, with a light pointing at a specific area of the car to make it stand out. For feature cars, like the high-end R8, there are up to nine spot lights, all aimed to hit different points on the car." Occupancy and daylight sensors were installed throughout the building. As an option, lighting control can be accessed by any computer connected to the Internet or cell phones. The Audi curved wall has linear lights recessed into the side which mimic the lines on the road. These linear lights are directed up to the ceiling to provide even indirect illumination throughout the show room, which is supplemented by the downlights above the vehicles. "Everyone who has seen the building from the inside, including the visitors from Audi Germany and people who worked on the job, have been very impressed," says Robert Leonardelli, project manager, Eastern Construction Company. "With a significantly small footprint to work with there were challenges, such as manoeuvring around several machines needed to install the custom curtain wall. But even with many teams in action at the same time, the work was well co-ordinated." Hossein Khoee, project leader with Crossey Engineering Ltd., says the mechanical system in this building is designed to accommodate the latest sustainable standards. "These include high quality, energy- efficient condensing boilers, energy heat recovery from exhaust air, low water heating temperature distribution, variable volume hydronic and air handling systems, and high-efficiency motors." He says the mechanical design was based on Audi standards but modified to conform to site conditions, Ontario Building Code and site restriction. The Audi Midtown Toronto building stands out not only in its stature but