flexiblefullpage -
billboard - default
interstitial1 - interstitial
catfish1 - bottom
Currently Reading

Glass penthouses rise above Toronto’s tree line

Building Team

Glass penthouses rise above Toronto’s tree line

Atop the midrise Leaside Common, the two-floor luxury penthouse suites take inspiration from Philip Johnson’s Glass House.


By Novid Parsi, Contributing Editor | May 13, 2022
Leaside Common ext 1
Courtesy Gairloch Development.

In midtown Toronto, the nine-story midrise building Leaside Common has released its Penthouse Collection: two-floor penthouses that take inspiration from Philip Johnson’s Glass House in Connecticut.

Like glass houses rising above Toronto’s tree line, the luxury penthouses feature 10-foot-high ceilings, high-end kitchens, and panoramic views of the neighborhood. As large as three bedrooms with three baths, the penthouse suites offer flexible living options, open-concept interiors, and unobstructed views throughout the primary living corridors. The penthouse suites can be accessed by a central lift and house their own private elevators. Outdoor terraces span the length of the floor plan.

“We wanted to create an exclusive luxury condo experience unlike anything else in this neighborhood,” Heather Rolleston, principal and design director, BDP Quadrangle, said in a statement. “Rising just above the tree line, the views from these units will be spectacular and are set to be preserved over time.”

Steps from retail and a new light-rail transit station, Leaside Common is encased in dual-tone bricks and includes vertical windows, integrated planters, and balconies and terraces. Developed by Gairloch, the midrise building has a sculpted, brick-patterned facade that evokes the undulating rhythm of an accordion. Condo amenities include a co-working lounge, gym, and a multi-purpose party room with access to private outdoor cooking and dining areas.

The two-story penthouse suites range from 1,446 square feet to 2,060 square feet, and their sales prices start at $2.5 million. Leaside Common also offers studios to three-bedroom units starting at $898,900. 

Building Team:

Owner/developer: Gairloch Development
Design architect and architect of record: BDP Quadrangle
MEP engineer: Lam &Associates
Structural engineer: Jablonsky, Ast and Partners
General contractor/construction manager: Bluescape Construction Management

Leaside Common Penthouse Int
Courtesy Gairloch Development.
Leaside Common Penthouse Dining Room
Courtesy Gairloch Development. 

 

Related Stories

| Aug 11, 2010

2009 Judging Panel

A Matthew H. Johnson, PE Associate Principal Simpson Gumpertz & HegerWaltham, Mass. B K. Nam Shiu, SE, PEVP Walker Restoration Consultants Elgin, Ill. C David P. Callan, PE, CEM, LEED APSVPEnvironmental Systems DesignChicago D Ken Osmun, PA, DBIA, LEED AP Group President, ConstructionWight & Company Darien, Ill.

| Aug 11, 2010

29 Great Solutions

1. Riverwalk Transforms Chicago's Second Waterfront Chicago has long enjoyed a beautiful waterfront along Lake Michigan, but the Windy City's second waterfront along the Chicago River was often ignored and mostly neglected. Thanks to a $22 million rehab by local architect Carol Ross Barney and her associate John Fried, a 1.

| Aug 11, 2010

High-Performance Modular Classrooms Hit the Market

Over a five-day stretch last December, students at the Carroll School in Lincoln, Mass., witnessed the installation of a modular classroom building like no other. The new 950-sf structure, which will serve as the school's tutoring offices for the next few years, is loaded with sustainable features like sun-tunnel skylights, doubled-insulated low-e glazing, a cool roof, light shelves, bamboo tri...

| Aug 11, 2010

Inspiring Offices: Office Design That Drives Creativity

Office design has always been linked to productivity—how many workers can be reasonably squeezed into a given space—but why isn’t it more frequently linked to creativity? “In general, I don’t think enough people link the design of space to business outcome,” says Janice Linster, partner with the Minneapolis design firm Studio Hive.

| Aug 11, 2010

Special Recognition: Pioneering Efforts Continue Trade School Legacy

Worcester, Mass., is the birthplace of vocational education, beginning with the pioneering efforts of Milton P. Higgins, who opened the Worcester Trade School in 1908. The school's original facility served this central Massachusetts community for nearly 100 years until its state-of-the-art replacement opened in 2006 as the 1,500-student Worchester Technical High School.

| Aug 11, 2010

Silver Award: Palmer House Hilton Hotel & Shops Chicago, Ill.

Chicago's Palmer House Hilton holds the record for the longest continuously operated hotel in North America. It was originally built in 1871 by Potter Palmer, one of America's first millionaire developers. When it was rebuilt after the Great Chicago Fire it became the first hotel in the U.S. to put a telephone in every room.

| Aug 11, 2010

BIM school, green school: California's newest high-performance school

Nestled deep in the Napa Valley, the city of American Canyon is one of a number of new communities in Northern California that have experienced tremendous growth in the last five years. Located 42 miles northeast of San Francisco, American Canyon had a population of just over 9,000 in 2000; by 2008, that figure stood at 15,276, with 28% of the population under age 18.

| Aug 11, 2010

Platinum Award: The Handmade Building

When Milwaukee's City Hall was completed in 1896, it was, at 394 feet in height, the third-tallest structure in the United States. Designed by Henry C. Koch, it was a statement of civic pride and a monument to Milwaukee's German heritage. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2005.

| Aug 11, 2010

Gulf Coast Hotel's Stormy Road to Recovery

After his initial tour of the dilapidated 1850s-era Battle House Hotel, Ron Blount, construction manager with Retirement Systems of Alabama, said to his boss: “You need a priest more than you need a contractor.” Those words were more prescient to RSA's restoration of the historic Mobile landmark than he could have known at the time.

| Aug 11, 2010

Great Solutions: Products

14. Mod Pod A Nod to Flex Biz Designed by the British firm Tate + Hindle, the OfficePOD is a flexible office space that can be installed, well, just about anywhere, indoors or out. The self-contained modular units measure about seven feet square and are designed to serve as dedicated space for employees who work from home or other remote locations.

boombox1 - default
boombox2 -
native1 -

More In Category



Giants 400

Top 75 Engineering Firms for 2023

Kimley-Horn, WSP, Tetra Tech, Langan, and IMEG head the rankings of the nation's largest engineering firms for nonresidential buildings and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.


halfpage1 -

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021