There's a new thread for discussion of the 17 storey St. Michael's Hospital expansion here.
 
this building is turning out rather nice i think. it could have been just another boring green glass box, but the glass fins really push the design up a notch.....

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thedeepend:

Thanks for the photos - the details made all the difference in this project. The blank wall, as necessary as it is due to building code is unfortunately extremely jarring - hopefully St. Mikes will snap up the properties next door and incorporate them into any future rounds of development.

AoD
 
^Yah. The building really adds to Victoria Street's non-fussy urbanity. I think it's one of the most New York streets in Toronto: mid-rise, narrow, crammed with all sorts of functional activity, but capable of sophistication without the need to show off.
 
Yes, this is the one street that feels very 'west 40s' theatre district-ish. I guess it's the backsides of the Elgin and Canon that does this, and the way the narrow street leads into Dundas Square.
 
There were plans for building a bridge over Shuter Street to link this building to the main hospital building. I think the City approved but nothing seems to have happened. I had assumed that the "balconies" on the south side were for this (and they may be) but ... Anyone know what's happening?]
 
When I went by a few days ago workers were tearing apart some of the facade on St. Mikes on the south side of Shuter right about where the link should be going.
 
http://www.stmichaelshospital.com/knowledgeinstitute/third-floor-plan.php


there are some rendering images of the bridge on the St. Mike's website...looks good but a little to thin and glassy to survive the wrath of a structural engineer....lets see how it actually turns out.

one thing about this project that i always thought of as a missed opportunity is how it quite bluntly sends out a boxy face to the hospital's namesake cathedral accross the street, hiding it even more from a decent view.

St Mike's cathedral was originally designed to be principally viewed from Queen street throught the once open McGill square (sold by the city to the methodist church and now containing Metropolitan United church) it was supposed to be to St Mikes Cathedral what St James park is to St James cathedral today. The new Li Ka Shing building doesnt help this situation.
 
Article from today's Globe and Mail, relevant excerpts below:


A bridge between knowledge and healing

Next week institute researchers, who were previously spread throughout the city, will begin moving into strategically closer quarters.

The bridge

Getting the bridge, which connects the knowledge institute to the hospital’s patient care across Shuter Street, was no easy feat.

Toronto has only a handful of pedestrian bridges, and there’s a good reason for that, says Jack Diamond, the institute’s architect.

Similar bridges, such as those in Calgary, have been accused of robbing sidewalks of foot traffic, he said. Then there was the impact on the skyline.

Eventually St. Michael’s was told, “If you’re going to do it, it better be a work of art,” said Robert Fox, the hospital’s vice-president and chief planning officer.

Mr. Diamond used the Italian glass company he hired for another of his creations, Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

To Mr. Fox, the pattern of the interwoven steel resembles a stent, a medical device used to create a passage for blood flow to the heart.

Before month’s end, the bridge will arrive in three pieces, and Shuter Street will be closed for a weekend so it can be installed.

Bringing the buildings together

Victoria Lane cuts right through the institute, which consists of two buildings on the ground floor.

Each building will have a distinct lobby and entrance, with the research entrance on the west and education on the east.

A “wishbone” staircase of oak and steel will join the two structures and allow people to see the floors above and below them.

“The very thing that divided the two sites is what unites them,” Mr. Diamond said.

The stairs are near open lounge areas, where the research and education sides overlap.
Click to expand...

The future

St. Michael’s opened in 1892 to care for Toronto’s downtown population, some of the most sick and needy in the city.

Now it’s bringing the first piece of modern architecture to the neighbourhood.

And St. Michael’s plan doesn’t end there.

A new 17-storey patient care tower, to be located at the northeast corner of Queen and Victoria Streets, has been proposed. The $300-million project would relocate inpatient care from the outdated Bond Wing, and the tower would also allow for larger critical care and surgical suites and an expansion of the emergency department.

St. Michael’s already has drawings of the new tower and has received rezoning approval for the area.

The next steps, Mr. Fox said, are waiting on funding.
Click to expand...
 
Hm, the Italian glass company that did the Four Seasons is also the Italian glass company that was involved in the ROM. Funny how they don't mention the latter even tho it was a much larger project.

Incidentally, the Italian glass company (Permasteelisa) is also in town right now getting ready to put up the Aga Khan thing
 
I think this building works wonderfully. It does wonders for brightening and enlivening the streets it faces. The detailing is really well thought out. The fins are simple, but fine and elegant and interesting. I love the way that the clasps under the horizontal glass fins of the south facade, play off the 'nubby' sculptural edges of St. Mikes in the background. Context without being 'contexual'.
So far the lobby interior is looking damn good as well.
I think Diamond has done a really good job here.
 
whatever said:
Hm, the Italian glass company that did the Four Seasons is also the Italian glass company that was involved in the ROM. Funny how they don't mention the latter even tho it was a much larger project.
Click to expand...

How much glass does the ROM have compared to the Four Seasons Centre? It's not funny why they used the 4SC as an example of a glass company's work, it's logical. It's also the same architect behind both the 4SC and St. Mike's Research Centre.
 
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