Burano (building)

Burano
The north facade of the Burano building
Map
General information
TypeResidential
Location832 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario
Coordinates43°39′42″N 79°23′11″W / 43.66167°N 79.38639°W / 43.66167; -79.38639
CompletedJuly 2012
Height
Roof163 m (535 ft)[1]
Technical details
Floor count50[1]
Floor area38,803 m2 (417,670 sq ft)[2]
Design and construction
Architect(s)Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance
DeveloperLanterra Developments
Burano building has a three storey retail space, with a large mural on the original structure's wall

Burano is a 50 storey, 163 metre tall residential high-rise condominium complex on Bay Street between Grenville St. and Grosvenor St. in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[3][4][5] The redevelopment of the site was part of a period of urban renewal of the Toronto financial district in the early 21st century.[6][7] Toronto City Planning stated that the Burano has "significantly contributed to the improvement of the streetscape and the public realm."[8]

History

Burano was financed by Lanterra Developments.[9] It was designed by Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance,[10] and is located across the street from Murano,[4] another one of his Toronto projects.[11][12] It is named for an island in Italy.[13]

The Burano was designed to be built within the footprint of a heritage structure: a 1925 auto dealership[4][14] which had been designated a heritage structure in 1999.[5] By 2010, the foundations were complete and the building was under construction.[15]

As well as architectural elements from the former building, public art was also incorporated into the Burano, including a large abstract fresco created by Italian artist Sandro Martini installed in the building's atrium, on the side of the heritage building.[16][3][17][18]

McLaughlin Motor Car Showroom

Main article: McLaughlin Motor Car Showroom

Construction of the Burano preserved the facade of the former Samuel McLaughlin's McLaughlin Motor Car Showroom, a two-storey heritage building designated in 1999 under the Ontario Heritage Act.[4] Built in 1925 as the R.S. McLaughlin Building, the Gothic Revival building was one of the first automobile dealerships in Toronto, and remained continuously occupied by car dealerships for eighty-two years.[5] Despite its long history, that use ended as part of a reorganization and consolidation of the car dealership industry in Canada.[19]

Due to the soft soil at the site, and to facilitate excavation, the historic facade was dismantled and stored off-site during construction of the seven-floor underground garage. After the garage and foundation appropriate for the fifty floors above ground were completed, the facade was reconstructed, incorporating the important heritage components.[20]

The historic building is marked with a plaque, placed in 2013 by Heritage Toronto.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Burano". The Skyscraper Center. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Burano, Toronto". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b Landau, Jack (19 February 2015). "Throwback Thursday: Burano". Urban Toronto. CHART Communications Inc. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d "Burano Condominiums". news.library.ryerson.ca. Ryerson University Library & Archives. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Knoeck, Kyle (21 August 2006). "City of Toronto Staff Report" (PDF). Toronto.ca. Toronto and East York Community Council. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  6. ^ LeBlanc, Dave (30 April 2015). "Amid Toronto's condo boom, high-rises have created a street-level energy". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  7. ^ Micallef, Shawn (2 April 2015). "Bay St. neighbourhood a work in progress that's starting to work: Micallef". Toronto Star. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  8. ^ "Toronto Urban Design Guidelines - North Downtown/Yonge" (PDF). City of Toronto. Toronto City Planning. June 2013. p. 20. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  9. ^ "This Canadian real estate investment firm is betting big on upscale mobile homes in the U.S. ‘sun belt’". National Post, Katia Dmitrieva, Bloomberg News | March 25, 2014
  10. ^ "Burano". Lanterra Developments. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  11. ^ "Catalogue". architectsalliance.com. architectsAlliance. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  12. ^ UrbanRealtyToronto Archived December 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "Artistic highrise inspired by Italian island". Toronto Star. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. 30 June 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  14. ^ "Facadism: the good, the bad and the ugly". NOW Toronto. by Richard Longley, May 18, 2016
  15. ^ "It took 100 years, but a tower begins to rise". National Post, Apr 23, 2010 . Adam McDowell.
  16. ^ "Toronto Urban Design Guidelines - North Downtown/Yonge" (PDF). City of Toronto. Toronto City Planning. June 2013. p. 60. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  17. ^ "Italy’s Sandro Martini Delivers Art of the Fresco to Canada". Canadian Art, September 18, 2012. BY Corrado Painafre
  18. ^ "A Quick Peek into Burano's new Art-filled Restaurant Space". Urban Toronto, September 7, 2012 6:08 pm | by Craig White
  19. ^ Turnbull, Barbara (15 June 2009). "Un-pave car dealer's lots to put up paradise". The Star. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  20. ^ E.R.A. Architects Inc. (14 March 2008). "Heritage Impact Statement (Conservation Strategy), Supplementary Report, The Burano" (PDF). City of Toronto. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  21. ^ "McLaughlin Motor Car Showroom Historical Plaque". torontoplaques.com. Alan L Brown. Retrieved 13 May 2017.