TORONTO | First Canadian Place | 298m | Recladding

[Marcanadian]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

Before ...



Wonder what will the 'after' look like!

That looks awful. It's being removed because it's a safety hazard, marble tiles seem to be falling off annually.

[H.E. Pennypacker]

image hosted on flickr







website: http://www.redefiningfirst.com/

[VictorF]

Conservative but gorgeous. Good work

[yin_yang]

About time...I bet most of the CFOs don't keep their house exteriors in that sort of condition.

[Elkhanan1]

By drum118 on UT.

Originally Posted by drum118

By MatrixElement on UT.

Originally Posted by MatrixElement

From today around suppertime:

image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41002894@N07/3951964352/

[kazetuner]

Well, this time i'll have to eat my words, this is now stunning

[Taller, Better]

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/700822

Bay St. landmark to lose its marble



Sep 25, 2009 04:30 AM
Jennifer Yang
STAFF REPORTER

When First Canadian Place was built in 1975, owner Paul Reichmann boasted the tower would be clad with "16 miles of marble."

"It was a mark of distinction for the building," recalls banker Richard O'Hagan, who worked at First Canadian Place shortly after it opened for business.

So the Reichmanns imported 45,000 slabs of Carrara marble from Italy and today, First Canadian Place is said to have more Carrara marble than any other building in the world.

But on Wednesday, the building's owners announced that First Canadian Place is losing its claim to marble fame. By the end of 2011, Brookfield Properties will replace all the Italian marble with white made-in-Canada glass.

"It was clear that the marble curtain had deteriorated," said Tom Farley, president and CEO of Brookfield's Canadian commercial properties.

Today, its rows of marble tiles resemble something more akin to a smoker's grin: many slabs are blackened and a yellow stain is spreading along some of the seams.

"As you can tell just by looking at it, there are some visual issues," said Stefan Dembinski, Brookfield's senior vice-president of asset management in Eastern Canada.

But the problem is more than cosmetic. A notoriously soft material, the marble has been weakened by harsh Toronto winters and in 2007, a marble slab came unstuck and plummeted 50 storeys. About 10 per cent of the slabs have been replaced over the years.

Carrara marble has also been a problem for other cities. In the early '90s, Chicago's Aon Center – designed by the same architect as First Canadian Place, Edward Durell Stone – also replaced its Carrara marble, to the tune of $80 million (U.S.).

In Toronto, First Canadian Place's facelift will cost at least $100 million (Cdn.), Farley says. About 65 per cent will be spent on replacing the façade, with the rest for other renovations.

But First Canadian Place will remain a white building, thanks to the "fritted" (ceramic-enamel coated) glass panels, which have small white particles baked in.

Some parts of the building will also be keeping their marble, including the lobby and the first two storeys of the exterior.

As for the rest of the 45,000 slabs? All will be recycled, says Dembinski, either crushed up into rooftop ballast or donated to art projects.

[filcan]

Originally Posted by Skybean

Another image from the webpage

I don't see a difference.

[Skybean]

I think that is a real shot, not a rendering of the old building with new cladding.

[filcan]

Ah ok...Still can't wait to see the new cladding completed and possibly new lighting as well.

[Kurtin]

This building looks different but still keeps its character without the Marble,

Here one way quicker to get the old cladding off First Canada Place
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaEucbtNvOA

[valantino]

Why change it? The facade is attacking people!!!!!

[valantino]

Well it's certainly a welcome change. The aging marble paneling is an embarrassment for Toronto's tallest office building. On the other hand, I was hoping for something a little bolder and more interesting, while this is still pretty conservative. Toronto needs another icon in it's skyline.

So basically, you were hoping they'd throw out any heritage value for some latest fad. The only reason I support this re-cladding is because the marble is structurally unsound. I don't think I'm alone either.

I can't wait until this city gets a damn supertall though. I really couldn't care less except that it may finally shut up the height crowd ... at least for a while. (and make it some "not a box" phallus to kill two birds with one stone)

[Taller, Better]

x2

[isaidso]

That's wishful thinking. Then people will want a second super tall. It's human nature to continually want more.

[Uaarkson]

The 'fritted' glass panels sound amazing, I'm sure this will look awesome when it's done.

[Ukraine]

It would've been better if they did a mosaic cladding with different colors like white,a little bit of blue and some cyan just randomly put throughout the building.
Anyway i still like the cladding awesome job toronto

[Ukraine]

what does it have to do with the BMO center???

[MissyC]

I totally agree with FFJ. Just the way it is, only cleaner. The tallest skyscraper of entire Canada is white, resembling the snow and the cold or cleanliness and sheer beauty of the so called great white north?!, I am not sure, so it has to be kept that way, pure white, clean and as significant as it is for Canada and the world.

I 'ven't seen any other skyscraper that tall being so white. (perhaps US First bank Los Angeles that has the same height and storeys but kind of off-white/baby-blue-ish)

[Uaarkson]

I don't know, Aon Center is pretty white.