In the course of our daily reporting, we often uncover unusual projects, places, or connections that don't make the final cut. Instead of keeping it to ourselves, we're pleased to share our weeky architrivia. 

Tango2 Condominiums in Toronto, image courtesy of Concord Adex

For this week's Explainer, we considered the different ways that tower heights are determined. Take a look if you want to know why One World Trade Center in New York City may be described as 387, 541 or 546 metres tall. But this isn't the only confusing metric used for building heights. Tango2 in Toronto appears to be a 20-storey building, but you can ride the elevator all the way up to the 23rd floor. The three mysterious extra levels are a result of buyer superstition, since the developer has chosen not to label floors with numbers that may be considered unlucky, including 13 and any number containing a four. So the 20-storey Tango2 skips over floors 4, 13, and 14. You can imagine how this starts to compound in taller towers, where the highest level on a 50-storey building could be labeled the 67th floor after skipping 4, 13, 14, 24, 34, 40-49, 54, and 64. 

Do you have building trivia to share? Join the conversation in the Architrivia Tipline thread in our Forum.