Murano, Toronto

Murano Condominiums is a two-tower residential high-rise condominium complex located alongside Bay Street, near the intersection of College Street in the Discovery District of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[1] Construction of the North tower (37 Grosvenor Street) was completed in the winter of 2008/9. The South tower (38 Grenville Street) was completed in 2010. The North and South towers are joined by a two-storey podium with planned retail and recreational facilities, including a roof-top garden and glass public art feature.

Murano
South Tower
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeResidential Retail
Location825 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario
Coordinates43.662097°N 79.386027°W / 43.662097; -79.386027
Estimated completion2010
Height
Antenna spire140 m (460 ft)
Technical details
Floor count45, 35
Design and construction
Architect(s)Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance
DeveloperLanterra

Architecture

Designed by Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance, Murano was marketed as a "fusion of art, architecture and glass".[2] Toronto City Planning stated that the Murano, together with the neighboring Burano, has "significantly contributed to the improvement of the streetscape and the public realm".[3]

Comparable Toronto structures designed by Clewes include SP!RE and Casa Condominio Residenza.

Construction Problems

Since late 2010, panes of balcony glass have shattered and fallen to the street below.[4] An occurrence on one of Toronto's hottest days on record (6 July 2012) resulted in the closure of Grosvenor Street and St. Vincent Lane. The North Tower lobby entrance was condemned by the City of Toronto pending the resolution of this problem.[5] More glass fell on August 1 at 3 am and at midday. Police closed the northbound lane of Bay between Grosvenor and Grenville Streets, expecting the closure to be for a week.[6]

For the first time, glass fell from the South Tower on August 15 at 11:30 AM, injuring a woman by slicing her wrist and leaving a puddle of blood where she was treated. “We don’t know why it’s happening, and continues to happen,” said Jim Laughlin, the city's deputy chief building inspector.[7]

The developers replaced all tempered glass with laminated glass on balconies on both towers,[8] and sealed the balconies.[9] The sealing of the balconies resulted in a $20 million class action lawsuit by residents and owners of the condominiums against the developers, builders and architects in 2012.[10]

References
  1. "City of Toronto Staff Report" (PDF). Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  2. "Murano". montanasteele.com. Montana Steele Strategic Marketing. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  3. "Toronto Urban Design Guidelines - North Downtown/Yonge" (PDF). City of Toronto. Toronto City Planning. June 2013. p. 20. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  4. The Toronto Blog.com. "Sidewalk along east side of Bay Street taped off after glass falls from Murano condo towers — again". Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  5. CityNews Toronto. "Section of Grosvenor Street closed due to falling glass". Archived from the original on 2012-10-03. Retrieved 2011-07-23.
  6. Hasham, Alyshah; Kwan, Amanda (1 August 2011). "Glass falls off building for the 5th time, closes part of Bay St". Toronto Star. Toronto ON. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  7. Casey, Liam; McNight, Zoe (15 August 2011). "Falling glass hits woman on Bay St". Toronto Star. Toronto ON. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  8. Casey, Liam (17 August 2011). "Developer to replace all balcony glass on three condos". Toronto Star. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  9. "Falling glass shuts down Bay St. for second day in a row". Toronto Metro. Free Daily News Group Inc. Torstar News Service. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
  10. Tapper, Josh (8 March 2012). "Falling glass lawsuits filed". Toronto Star. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
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