Tuesday, October 8, 2024
With our last tour of the season—the Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus—complete, our 2024 TSA Building Tours season has come to an end. And what an amazing season it has been!
Designed for architects by architects, TSA Building Tours provide exclusive behind-the-scenes access to some of our city’s newest buildings—some still under construction—in tours led by the people behind the design including architects, owners, engineers, landscape architects and many others. With a strong focus on-site learning, these tours provide a unique glimpse into the design and construction process and allow attendees to learn directly from those involved in translating ideas into built realities.
This year’s TSA Building Tours season kicked off with an under-construction tour of not just one but two amazing waterfront transformations: The Corleck and Bathurst Quay Common, including the iconic Canada Malting Silos. Jointly led by the Canada Ireland Foundation (CIF), Kearns Mancini Architects Inc., and the City of Toronto, attendees on this tour had the opportunity to explore these former industrial sites being transformed into new spaces for culture and the arts, including the new home for the CIF. With adaptive reuse at such a monumental scale, we can’t wait to visit again once construction has been completed!
In July, we had an amazing time exploring the recently completed Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) Headquarters. From mass-timber to planting selection, operable windows to white and green roofs, the teams at Moriyama Teshima Architects and FORREC took our attendees on a behind-the-scenes walkthrough that included many insights of they were able to deliver a sustainable, healthy and durable building that not only looks great, but is financially and environmentally sound.
And in August, we were treated to a visit of Maple House at Canary Landing with architects—Alliance, a purpose-built rental complex in Toronto’s West Don Lands done in partnership with COBE. Our tour explored the towers and landscapes of Maple House West, starting with a discussion of the complex’s relationship with its surrounding context with the help of a site model (always a hit!) and ending with some incredible views overlooking the Canary District. Along the way we had the opportunity to visit many of the complex’s programmed amenities and interconnected terraces, and even had the opportunity to peek into one of the suites!
Last but definitely not least, we were joined by the amazing team at Teeple Architects Inc. for a tour of their new Schwartz Reisman Innovation Campus at the University of Toronto, a project they did in partnership with Weiss/Manfredi. The team at Teeple toured us through some of the tower’s most breathtaking spaces like the wood-lined multipurpose hall and the panoramic winter gardens with stunning city views. We also got to visit an unfinished tenant space revealing the structure and systems so carefully hidden in the rest of the building. Precision and attention to detail were seen in every corner of this project.
We can’t do a season recap without also reflecting on some of the more administrative changes implemented in 2024 to improve this ever-popular program, including adding an additional tour for extra capacity and delaying ticket tour sales until one day after the bulletin announcement. We also implemented changes to our reminder emails and waitlist to make sure no spot went unused. While small, these changes resulted in a 56% increased attendance in this year’s tour season compared to 2023. We know though that there are still many who wanted to participate and were unable to do so, which is why for 2025 we are looking at adding even more tours to better meet demand.
As our 2024 season comes to an end, we’d also like to give thanks to the many people who make this initiative possible.
Thank you to our 2024 organizing team, including Initiative Lead Varsha Kumar and the TSA staff team for putting together such a fun 2024 roster, as well as our dedicated volunteer Harash Mahbobi for his support during this year’s tours. Thank you as well to all our enthusiastic tour guides and their practices for their willingness to share their knowledge and experiences with us, and to the building owners for providing access to our curious attendees. And of course a big thank you to the 200+ attendees who joined us on a TSA Building Tour this season.
We would be remiss not to also give a special shoutout to STEIN + REGENCY Construction Management, our returning TSA Building Tours Program Sponsor. Without their support, none of this would be possible.
While this year’s season has come to an end, we’re getting a head start on planning for next year’s roster with an expanded offering so that more people can explore and learn about our built environment – and that means we need more tours! So if you or your studio are currently working on an under-construction or recently completed project and would like to share your story, let us know!
Program Sponsor
