Ramako
Moderator
Does anybody know if it is possible that one day in the future the city might be open to letting that corner be developed? Would it be possible to knock down that podium without affecting FCP?
Urban Shocker
Doyenne
Um, that's where the BMO banking hall is.
DaninToronto
Active Member
Anyone else notice the KPMG logo on Bay-Adelaide Centre in the rendering?
khris
Senior Member
MatrixElement
Active Member
September 24 Pictures
From today around suppertime:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41002894@N07/3951964284/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41002894@N07/3951964352/
From today around suppertime:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41002894@N07/3951964284/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41002894@N07/3951964352/
egotrippin
Senior Member
I think there's a bit of a difference between modest early Georgian/Victorian buildings and a 300' deco skyscraper. In a city that doesn't have much height from the prewar/deco era, the Star Building's loss is devastating.
DaninToronto
Active Member
Ah sorry, I missed that one. Still neat they added it to the rendering.
walli
Active Member
http://www.redefiningfirst.com/Overview/Vision.aspx
Wonder how that fritted glass will compare with the neoparies cladding of the newest embassy in Ottawa (which looks very nice imho):
Wonder how that fritted glass will compare with the neoparies cladding of the newest embassy in Ottawa (which looks very nice imho):
yyzhyd
Active Member
Not only that but our traders sit on the 3rd floor of that podium!
Ramako
Moderator
http://thestar.com/news/gta/article/700732
Bay Street icon getting a facelift
First Canadian Place will soon be losing one of its claims to fame - its 45,000 slabs of marble cladding are being replaced with made-in-Canada glass
Sep 24, 2009 08:26 PM
Jennifer Yang
Staff Reporter
When First Canadian Place was built in 1975, owner Paul Reichmann boasted of the tower's record-breaking attributes: it would be the tallest bank building in the world, it would have 93,000 windows, and it would be clad with "16 miles of marble."
"It was a mark of distinction for the building," recalls banker Richard O'Hagan, who worked at First Canadian Place shortly after it was completed in 1975. "The Reichmanns made a virtue of bringing the marble from Italy."
And that's exactly what they did, shipping in 45,000 slabs of Carrara marble weighing about 350 pounds each. Today, First Canadian Place reportedly sports more Carrara marble than any other building worldwide, and here in Toronto the structure has become a Bay Street icon, an expanse of white stretching 298 metres into the sky.
But on Wednesday, the building's owners announced that First Canadian Place will soon be losing its claim to marble fame - by the end of 2011, Brookfield Properties will replace all 45,000 slabs of Italian marble with white made-in-Canada glass.
"It was clear that the marble curtain had deteriorated," said Tom Farley, president and CEO of Brookfield's Canadian commercial properties. He said the building was acquired for $2 billion in 2005 and at that time, it was already known the marbles were nearing their shelf life.
"We recognize the age of the building, being built in 1975," Farley said. "Since then, there's other buildings that have been built in Toronto that have surpassed First Canadian Place in terms of overall quality."
And certainly, with the TD Centre darkly glowing across the street, Scotia Plaza just around the corner, and a nearly completed Telus Tower glittering to the south, First Canadian Place has really begun to show its age.
Today, its rows of marble tiles resemble something more akin to a smoker's grin: many slabs are blackened and a yellow stain is slowly spreading along some of the seams.
"As you can tell just by looking at it, there are some visual issues," said Stefan Dembinski, Brookfield's senior vice president of asset management in Eastern Canada.
But the problem is more than cosmetic. A notoriously soft material, the marble has weakened from the harsh Toronto winters and in 2007, a marble slab came unstuck and plummeted 50 storeys down. Carrara marble has also been a problem in other cities and in the early 90s, Chicago's Aon Centre - designed by the same architect as First Canadian Place, Edward Durell Stone - also replaced its Carrara marble, to the tune of $80 million (U.S.).
In Toronto, First Canadian Place's facelift is costing at least $100 million, Farley says, with about 65 per cent going towards the façade.
The rest will be spent on other renovations, such as revamping the office lobbies, improving energy conservation in the building, and installing high-efficiency toilets and faucets.
But all is not lost of Reichmann's original vision. First Canadian Place will remain a white building, thanks to the "fritted" glass panels, which have small white particles baked in. A few parts of the building will also be keeping their marbles, including the lobby and the first two storeys of the exterior.
As for the rest of the 45,000 slabs? All of it will be recycled, says Dembinski, either crushed up into rooftop ballast or donated to community art projects.
There's even a chance that one day, anyone nostalgic for First Canadian marble can just visit the beach.
"One of the concepts was it could be crushed up to be used in sand on some of the public beaches," Dembinski said. "It will all get recycled, one way or another."
Bay Street icon getting a facelift
First Canadian Place will soon be losing one of its claims to fame - its 45,000 slabs of marble cladding are being replaced with made-in-Canada glass
Sep 24, 2009 08:26 PM
Jennifer Yang
Staff Reporter
When First Canadian Place was built in 1975, owner Paul Reichmann boasted of the tower's record-breaking attributes: it would be the tallest bank building in the world, it would have 93,000 windows, and it would be clad with "16 miles of marble."
"It was a mark of distinction for the building," recalls banker Richard O'Hagan, who worked at First Canadian Place shortly after it was completed in 1975. "The Reichmanns made a virtue of bringing the marble from Italy."
And that's exactly what they did, shipping in 45,000 slabs of Carrara marble weighing about 350 pounds each. Today, First Canadian Place reportedly sports more Carrara marble than any other building worldwide, and here in Toronto the structure has become a Bay Street icon, an expanse of white stretching 298 metres into the sky.
But on Wednesday, the building's owners announced that First Canadian Place will soon be losing its claim to marble fame - by the end of 2011, Brookfield Properties will replace all 45,000 slabs of Italian marble with white made-in-Canada glass.
"It was clear that the marble curtain had deteriorated," said Tom Farley, president and CEO of Brookfield's Canadian commercial properties. He said the building was acquired for $2 billion in 2005 and at that time, it was already known the marbles were nearing their shelf life.
"We recognize the age of the building, being built in 1975," Farley said. "Since then, there's other buildings that have been built in Toronto that have surpassed First Canadian Place in terms of overall quality."
And certainly, with the TD Centre darkly glowing across the street, Scotia Plaza just around the corner, and a nearly completed Telus Tower glittering to the south, First Canadian Place has really begun to show its age.
Today, its rows of marble tiles resemble something more akin to a smoker's grin: many slabs are blackened and a yellow stain is slowly spreading along some of the seams.
"As you can tell just by looking at it, there are some visual issues," said Stefan Dembinski, Brookfield's senior vice president of asset management in Eastern Canada.
But the problem is more than cosmetic. A notoriously soft material, the marble has weakened from the harsh Toronto winters and in 2007, a marble slab came unstuck and plummeted 50 storeys down. Carrara marble has also been a problem in other cities and in the early 90s, Chicago's Aon Centre - designed by the same architect as First Canadian Place, Edward Durell Stone - also replaced its Carrara marble, to the tune of $80 million (U.S.).
In Toronto, First Canadian Place's facelift is costing at least $100 million, Farley says, with about 65 per cent going towards the façade.
The rest will be spent on other renovations, such as revamping the office lobbies, improving energy conservation in the building, and installing high-efficiency toilets and faucets.
But all is not lost of Reichmann's original vision. First Canadian Place will remain a white building, thanks to the "fritted" glass panels, which have small white particles baked in. A few parts of the building will also be keeping their marbles, including the lobby and the first two storeys of the exterior.
As for the rest of the 45,000 slabs? All of it will be recycled, says Dembinski, either crushed up into rooftop ballast or donated to community art projects.
There's even a chance that one day, anyone nostalgic for First Canadian marble can just visit the beach.
"One of the concepts was it could be crushed up to be used in sand on some of the public beaches," Dembinski said. "It will all get recycled, one way or another."
Redroom Studios
Senior Member
hmmm, I am not sure about that window count of 93000... Sears / Willis Tower in Chicago is considerably taller and all glass and has only 16100 windows. Perhaps they added one too many zeros...
SP!RE
°°°°°°
Thanks for posting the article. I figured/ was hoping The Star would cover the redevelopment announcement shortly.
taal
Senior Member
93000 windows = 1292 per floor (assuming 72 floors) ... 
9300 = 130 per floor ... still seems high but the first couple of floors may account for a huge amount of these.
9300 = 130 per floor ... still seems high but the first couple of floors may account for a huge amount of these.
Redroom Studios
Senior Member
here's a couple more images from the Redefining First website that allows you to count the windows on each level of one face. I count 28 across, add 4 more per corner for the notches, times 4 sides = 128 per floor, so your math is right on.
eventually to become this: (this closeup looks more like what I'd call bronze rather than the reddish hue seen in earlier images. Sweet!)
eventually to become this: (this closeup looks more like what I'd call bronze rather than the reddish hue seen in earlier images. Sweet!)
Last edited:
drum118
Superstar
Sept 24
