Urban Housing Redefined.
Pushing the bounds of architectural design in Ontario, River City stands boldly at the entrance of Toronto. This urban housing development’s four buildings sit enveloped among the crisscrossing highways, pulling energy from the undulating transit and the Don River. The inspirational transformation was fifteen years in the making, created in partnership with Saucier + Perrotte Architects and Urban Capital developers.
This project was challenging from the start. The area of West Don Lands had been an abandoned industrial site for twenty years. The lots lay in a contaminated flood zone, sliced by busy infrastructure, and somewhat forgotten by the city and its residents. What stands today is a community, home to 1500 people, with a focus on green spaces and sustainability. The LEED Gold neighborhood development connects to nature and is a stunning architectural achievement.
Construction management firm Bluescape met the numerous engineering and construction obstacles? with ALPOLIC® metal composite materials. Bluescape specializes in mid and high residential projects, but River City featured the largest volume of MCM panels the firm had ever worked with. “ALPOLIC MCM were the primary component of the buildings’ exterior and expressed the shape and lines of the buildings,” said managing director Tim Otten, who helped oversee the River City development. The success of this award-winning project has garnered significant attention and Otten asserted that most of Bluescape’s future projects will feature MCM because they are “versatile and flexible.”
Award-winning, Safe and Beautiful
Winner of the 2020 Excellence in Architecture Award from the Ordre des architectes du Québec, River City was an ambitious project, broken out into four phases to create 1,000 housing units. “A major concern was the sheer volume of panels required for the site for an extended period of time. Materials were available and though the schedule was a challenge, ultimately the project was completed to the satisfaction of all parties,” said Otten. ALPOLIC production and service were able to supply and support the coordination of this monumental project successfully because of our team’s dedication.
Featuring nearly 300,000 square feet of sustainable ALPOLIC metal composite materials in TOB black and a custom white, this incredible façade helped reshape the metropolitan landscape. These materials, produced efficiently in a low-waste facility, introduce a synergetic connection between the area's new residential life to its industrial past. 8000 panels of ALPOLIC®/fr were fabricated into a rainscreen system by Ritz Architectural Systems across all the buildings at River City.Fire-resistant code compliant with the ULC CAN S-134 test, ALPOLIC®/fr panels deliver exceptional flatness, vibration damping, durability and ease of maintenance to realize your architectural vision beautifully.
The black and white tower of River City Phase 1 speaks to that sense of transformation. The playful geometry seems to point travelers to the heart of the city, and will challenge regional architecture for decades to come. The intrepid design build team of River City, featuring ALPOLIC materials, welcome everyone to Toronto.
Learn more about ALPOLIC, and request your free samples today.
Related Stories
Sponsored | Voice of the Brand | Jun 5, 2023
Sustainable, Award-winning Design gives New Life to Parkland Hospital
Built in 1954, the Dallas Parkland Hospital had become severely overcrowded and outdated. The largest public healthcare project in the country to be built in one phase, this AIA award-winning, LEED Gold project doubled the size of the old facility. This remarkable design incorporates over 4.5 acres of ALPOLIC MCM.
Sponsored | Voice of the Brand | Mar 31, 2023
Considerations When Specifying in Extreme Weather Zones
Why Choose an IMP in an Extreme Weather Zone?
Sponsored | Voice of the Brand | Jun 1, 2022
High-Rise Buildings Stand Out with High-Style Metal Cladding
Metal wall panel systems provide a cost-effective, attractive solution for high-rise buildings.
Sponsored | Voice of the Brand | Jan 27, 2022
A Modern Approach to Labor in the Construction Industry
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted and reshaped norms in the workforce and the ongoing labor shortage can be felt in every industry. Innovations to go faster, maintain safety, minimize learning curves, and drive down costs are becoming imperatives for companies to stay competitive in the construction industry.
Sponsored | Voice of the Brand | Dec 2, 2021
How Creativity Takes Shapes
Architects charged with developing new buildings are increasingly seeking ways to stretch the limits of their creativity while also delivering on durability and long-term performance when it comes to the building envelope. With a host of engineered building enclosure systems, Sto® serves as a key partner in this endeavor.
Sponsored | Voice of the Brand | Nov 18, 2021
The Beauty is in the Details
Color capabilities with Sherwin-Williams Coil Coatings are nearly limitless. Our line of Fluropon® coil and extrusion metal coating systems let our customers explore new color spaces using a wide array of gloss, effects and print options. With over 50,000 colors offered, we can color match almost any look you dream up.
Sponsored | Voice of the Brand | Sep 2, 2021
Protect Your Walls and Sloped Roofs with a Smarter Sheathing System
Integrated Continuous Insulation’s Role in the Ever-Changing Construction Landscape
Sponsored | Voice of the Brand | Aug 31, 2021
Mix It Up with Metal Cladding
Combining architectural metal panel profiles and colors creates high-end, modern facades that meet the budget and the time frame. PAC-CLAD Metal Wall Panel Systems provided the solution for both a downtown high-rise in Pittsburgh and a midwestern university’s technology campus.
