25 YORK STREET

25 YORK STREET

Located in the heart of Toronto’s downtown commercial core, is this 30-storey office tower, an award-winning, modern commercial building for Menkes Developments Ltd. Composed of two very distinct parts, this building expresses its “tower” and “base” in a manner unique to commercial office architecture. By extending the curtain wall both horizontally and vertically beyond the building’s exterior volume, a variation in transparency results. This gives the tower the appearance of additional lightness, especially at its outer edges, more in tune with the sky and directly in contrast with the visually heavy office towers of Toronto’s financial district directly to the north.

At the base of this office tower is TELUS’ “innovation centre” – a two-storey black zinc-clad box with glazed ends. Below the innovation centre can be found other box-like forms clad in a similar manner. Resulting in a sculptural composition of glass and metal-clad boxes, this unexpected compilation of forms adds both drama and spectacle to the streets below.

The lobby, designed with ease of pedestrian circulation use in mind, links itself to the Scotiabank Arena – home of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors – and Union Station, the city’s railway hub. Escalators at the lobby’s west end rise to a bridge crossing over York Street, connecting pedestrians to Toronto’s elevated “PATH” system.

Below the lobby are three levels of underground parking and loading docks, all tied into a system of below grade “service streets”, connecting Scotiabank Arena, Union Station and 25 York Street. One level below that is a TTC tunnel constructed for a future planned subway expansion.

LOCATION: Toronto, Ontario

ARCHITECT: Adamson Associates Architects

DESIGN LEADERSHIP: Michael Poitras,
Partner-in-Charge of Design (Adamson)

CLIENT: Menkes Developments Ltd.

STATISTICS:

  • No. of storeys: 30
  • Total floor area (above grade):
    853,265 ft2 (79,271 m2)
  • Total floor area (below grade):
    217,895 ft2 (20,243 m2)
  • Below grade parking: 521 stalls
    (including 3 barrier-free)
  • Below grade bicycle parking: 58 stalls

MATERIALS:

  • Silver curtain wall windows & doors
  • Black zinc cladding
  • DensDeck soffits (painted white)
  • Honed golden yellow granite floors (lobby)
  • Honed golden yellow granite pavers (exterior)
  • Outdoor landscaping

GENERAL PROGRAM:

  • Office
  • 2 “innovation” centres (TELUS program)
  • Retail
  • Pedestrian circulation connects to PATH system, Union Station and Scotiabank Arena
  • Bicycle change rooms with showers
  • Outdoor public space
  • 3 outdoor terraces
  • Loading docks: 6

LEED: Platinum

COST: $300 million

COMPLETION: 2009

AWARDS:

  • Design Excellence Award – Ontario Association of Architects 2011
  • The Illumination Engineering Society of North America – Section Award, Commendable Achievement in Lighting Design – Michael Poitras 2010
  • The Illumination Engineering Society of North America – Award of Merit, Contribution to Lighting Design – Michael Poitras 2010
  • NAIOP 9th Annual REX Awards – 2010 Office Development of the Year
  • LEED EB: O&M Platinum Building with LEED CS and CI Gold Certifications – Triple LEED Certification 2012