Burano | |
---|---|
| |
General information | |
Type | Residential |
Location | 832
Bay Street Toronto, Ontario |
Coordinates | 43°39′42″N 79°23′11″W / 43.66167°N 79.38639°W |
Completed | July 2012 |
Height | |
Roof | 163 m (535 ft) [1] |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 50 [1] |
Floor area | 38,803 m2 (417,670 sq ft) [2] |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance |
Developer | Lanterra Developments |
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]
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]
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]