Looking Over Four Months of Progress at CIBC SQUARE | UrbanToronto
While some finishing touches are still being applied to CIBC SQUARE’s 49-storey South Tower in Toronto’s Financial District, work at the office complex’s 50-storey North Tower is still progressing below grade level. At the same time, the park that will connect the two buildings over the east end of Union Station is being prepared for a partial opening. Here’s an overview of some of the work since our last look at the project in November when we shared a collage of updated images from all ends of the construction site.
Lights of at night, and more branding, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Dustin William
The biggest outward changes to the South Tower have been the appearance of CIBC’s new branding in a number of spots. Above, the bank’s new logo hovers over Bay Street in a shot from February, while below, a more recent shot shows ground level installation of the brand.
Branding at ground level, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor polesuingularity
The logo is up on-high as well, pointing south in this case. We don’t know how many more of the logos may be added to the top of the building before CIBC is done with stamping their presence in this spot; possibly further references to the bank will wait for spots on the North Tower.
CIBC branding atop the South Tower in February, screen shot at 3:43 from https://www.youtube.com/embed/97H7dO3Q8JE
Meanwhile, high up in the tower, readers of UrbanToronto’s Forum thread for the project got a peek at what the crimped curtainwall windows of the tower look like from the inside.
Office interior beside the crimped curtain wall, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor trtcttc
Linking the South and Tower towers will be a park, held aloft over the GO and VIA Rail trains coming and going from Union. Recent pics of the park show that its south end is nearly ready for use; spring plants have still to go in, but trees are planted, and it seems that the park is on track to open to the public in May.
Status of park, image by UT Forum contributor mbrrrrr
Another shot of the park from close up shows gives a bit more of an idea of what it will be like to be on the deck.
Looking up to the South Tower from park level, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor lightarchitect
Since we last looked at the North Tower site, crews have continued to excavate and work on the foundation and garage area of the new tower and its podium. Tieback drilling, grouting, and stressing were all ongoing on the eastern portion of the site to support the shoring walls as the excavation progressed downward to P5 in mid-December.
The construction ramp along Yonge Street was also removed, allowing for further tieback installation. Looking to the central area of the site, the forming and pouring of core foundations was nearly completed, and the vertical core walls had been started. The forming of the early logistics slab at grade, on the north-most side of the pit was also progressing eastward, from Bay towards Yonge.
Phase 2 in December, image by UT Forum contributor mbrrrrr
As of mid-January, the forming and pouring of the core foundations in the centre of the site of the second phase had been completed, and the work on the vertical core walls was ongoing. The forming of the early logistics slab at grade had progressed all the way to Yonge Street. Crews were still working on digging down to the P5 level.
Pouring a new crane base in mid-February, image by UT Forum contributor civdis
By mid-February, crews were preparing for the pour of another crane base, to bring the site’s total crane count up to four. Crane erection began around the end of February, but was not completed for several days.
The fourth crane during assembly, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor civdis
Excavation on the eastern portion of the site has finally reached P5, and the forming and pouring of the core concrete foundations in the centre of the site has been completed. The vertical core walls have also been completed to P2. The forming of the early logistics slab at grade has now been completed to its east end at Yonge Street, as seen above.
Construction began on the north end of the overbuild park with the erection of new steel trusses in mid-December. The trusses are now complete — the image below is from this week — while lower-level steel decking is still being installed, and the concrete topping at that level being continuing as well, targeted for completion in May.
Work on the north end of the overbuild park, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Johnny Au
Once open, the office complex by Hines and Ivanhoé Cambridge will stand out at the south end of Downtown Toronto’s Financial District. Designed by UK-based WilkinsonEyre Architects with Toronto’s Adamson Associates, the complex will consist of a matched pair of “diamond-encrusted” towers that will stand almost perpendicular to each other. We shall then see how many of the new CIBC logos appear at the top of the two towers!
CIBC SQUARE, image courtesy of Hines/Ivanhoé Cambridge
You can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you’d like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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