Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture along with B+H Architects, the 160 Front Street is a new iconic tower, recently named TD Terrace, adds to Toronto’s skyline with a shape that was designed specifically for the site at 160 Front Street for The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited.
The building’s form was sculpted in response to extensive environmental analysis, one of which included that the main axis of the building should ideally be oriented parallel to the direction of the site’s prevailing winds, minimizing its resistance to the wind’s lateral loads.
The resulting design is tapered both at the top and the bottom, assisting the structure when resisting wind, minimizing its effect on the pedestrian realm, and creating a spacious respite to the compressed neighboring sidewalks.
For its inspired design and emphasis on sustainability, the project has recently been awarded a 2024 American Architecture Award and a 2024 Green Good Design Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
160 Front Street is contextually integrated into the street grid of Toronto’s urban fabric and enhances the pedestrian experience by creating broader sidewalks with landscaped areas both on Simcoe Street and Front Street.
The adjacent 6-story masonry heritage building will be renovated and integrated into the architecture and program of the tower, providing an historical perspective to the tenants of the building. The building incorporates a state-of-the-art exterior wall with other passive sustainable strategies, helping the building achieve both LEED® Platinum and WELL Building Standard® certification.
To ensure continued sustainability monitoring, once completed, 160 Front Street will be subject to the rigorous standards of Green at Work® by Cadillac Fairview, the client’s award-winning sustainability program.
The interior of the building features an expansive 33-foot tall lobby with floor-to-ceiling glazing and stone finishes.
Throughout the building, 9-feet-6-inch ceiling heights, with floor-to-ceiling glass, have spectacular views of Toronto’s skyline and offer an amazing quality of light for flexible and efficient workspaces.
Daylight harvesting controls will help the building yield significant savings in lighting energy consumption and maximize the energy-saving potential of the building’s high-performance curtain wall system.
160 Front Street also incorporates unparalleled amenities including a green roof at the podium level and several outdoor ‘inlets’ with tenant access from their workspaces.
It was designed to specifically appeal to quality conscious tenants seeking to relocate to a world-class building, in a world-class city, with a bold and distinctive Architecture that will serve to enhance the tenant’s corporate identity.
The tower was designed by AS+GG in collaboration with B+H Architects as the Architect of Record. It has 111,000 sm of leasable Class-A office space; 4 levels of below-grade parking for 340 cars; and bike storage for 450 bikes. Construction started in 2019 and is scheduled for completion in 2024.
Project: 160 Front Street
Architects: Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Lead Architect: Gordon Gill
Design Team: Adrian Smith, Gordon Gill, and Robert Forest
Architects of Record: B+H Architects
Landscape Architects: Quinn Design Associates
General Contractor: PLC Construction
Client: The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited
Photographs: Courtesy of the Architects
