Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/755184
DECEMBER 2016 | 57 Bay Adelaide East PHOTOGRAPHY BY TOM ARBAN/COURTESY ADAMSON ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS + BROOKFIELD PROPERTIES Bay Adelaide East by ANGELA ALTASS B ay Adelaide Centre, located in Toronto's financial district, welcomed its first tenants to the new 44-storey plus six-storey podium office tower earlier this year, and Bay Adelaide East, a neighbour to the Bay Adelaide West tower, is part of this multiphase development project. "It actually started with our original development of the west tower," says Herb Mah, VP, development, Brookfield Properties. "This is phase two, so a lot of the architectural design features are complementary to the west tower. There are some subtle differences but we want them to be recognized as part of a complex of buildings." A LEED Platinum project, the $300-million building has approximately one million square feet of rentable space and features an efficient and functional floorplate that can accommodate a variety of different layouts. The building uses innovative design technologies and conservation strategies that translate into an estimated 45 percent savings for tenants, relative to the typical Toronto office building. "A unique feature of the second tower is that we had to build a podium for lead tenant Deloitte Canada," says Mah. "This allowed us to rethink the overall plan for the second tower and re-envision the complex as a whole. This site has a long history because it has gone through an evolution from the original concept of one office tower on the block back in the late 1980s and then construction stopped in the early 90s due to the economy. Over the years we were able to take control of other pieces of land and rethink the entire complex." The Bay Adelaide East tower is composed as a sister tower to the previously constructed west tower, says Goran Milosevic, principal, KPMB Architects. As the design architect, KPMB Architects was responsible for the overall design vision of the Bay Adelaide Precinct Master Plan and the east tower and podium. Adamson Associates Architects was responsible for contract documents, oversight during the construction phase and overall project delivery. "KPMB considered it a rare opportunity to be involved in developing and refining one of the last underdeveloped urban blocks within the core of the financial district," says Milosevic. "The master plan involved re-imagining the entire site between Bay and Yonge Streets, and Adelaide and Richmond Streets, as well as connecting to the below-grade PATH system." The east tower is a refinement of the language established by the earlier tower. "A unique element in the east tower's composition is the six-storey podium element, which is connected to the east side of the tower and extends to Yonge Street and transitions from the mid-block scale of the tower to the lower scale of the historical facades on Yonge Street," says Milosevic. The project also included a heritage component which was overseen by ERA Architects Inc. "The historical masonry facades originally located at the north- west corner of Yonge and Adelaide Streets were relocated to the south- west corner at Yonge and Temperance Streets," explains Milosevic. ERA Architects worked closely with KPMB Architects and Adamson Associates Architects on all aspects of the heritage work, says Michael McClelland, principal, ERA Architects Inc. "We worked with KPMB and the owner to develop an approach to Yonge Street," says McClelland. "We relocated a building on Yonge and extended its Yonge Street elevation using a mould. That's the portion we call the ghost facade, which is a mould of the original facade produced in glass fibre reinforced concrete. The ghost facade is a way of interpreting the history of the site, inspired in part by the work of the English artist Rachel Whiteread." Much of the restoration work on the heritage building was based on accurately copying the construction drawings that had been prepared in 1909, says McClelland. "The cornices and the shopfront, which had been altered long ago, were restored to that period," says McClelland. The heritage aspect of the project presented an interesting challenge. "We had to preserve and move three individual sections of the facade from heritage buildings, while preserving the brick masonry of the facades and protecting against excessive moisture from the cooling towers located directly behind the relocated facades," says Sameer Dhargalkar, director of business development and marketing, Entuitive. "A dynamic buffer zone solution was recommended to provide separation and protect the facades from high levels of humidity." Construction in a downtown city development obviously posed several challenges. "Proximity to an active subway line and designing