What it
takes to build
a skyscraper
01
02
03
04
The Toronto Connection
The Vertical City
What goes into designing a workspace in 2023
The Architectural Details
In this interactive TD Stories experience, journey inside TD Terrace and learn about what it takes to create a 21st-century skyscraper and workspace, or more accurately, a kind of vertical city.
Table of contents
It all began
in 1855...
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Something that sort of begs you to return and influences you to stay and collaborate and be part of a community," she says.
Designer Kendra Robinson, Concept Lead and Interior Designer from architecture and design firm Lemay, says she and her team took inspiration from the hospitality industry to create a warm and welcoming environment.
Designing a
vertical city
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Hear from
our experts
Kendra Robinson
Interior Designer + Concept Lead
NCIDQ, BAID, LEED GA
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TD's earliest predecessor, The Bank of Toronto, was founded by a group of millers and merchants of grain.
At the time Toronto was still in its infancy. City streets were made of pressed dirt and horses pulled wagons through the downtown core.
so did the city around it, with taller office buildings and shining skyscrapers helping to define the emerging skyline.
TD unveiled its global headquarters – Toronto-Dominion Centre – a modernist wonderland designed by celebrated German-American architect Mies van der Rohe.
More than a century later,
in 1967...
Which brings us to today...
TD Terrace, located at 160 Front Street West, at the corner of Front and Simcoe Streets, is a natural progression of what Amy Korczynski, Archivist and Manager, Corporate Heritage at TD, calls the “TD corridor of influence” stretching from the Bank’s first location, through Toronto-Dominion Centre, to the new skyscraper.
Hear from the expert herself...
Downtown Toronto
Over the years,
as TD grew...
ca. 1912
Grand Union Hotel
site of TD Terrace,
Front & Simcoe Streets
Toronto Public Library Baldwin Collection PC_3682
Dominion Bank Head Office,
1 King Street West
TD Bank Group Archives AA-04-30
ca. 1914
Vault fragments being transported up Yonge Street from Lake Ontario by horses to Dominion Bank's Head Office
at 1 King Street West,
TD Bank Group Archives 77-282-1
Enough about history. Let's talk about...
The
vertical city
Like a city tipped on its head, the building is designed to be its own neighbourhood with amenities and landmarks located throughout to carry colleagues through their day - whatever it may bring.
TD Terrace isn't a workspace, it's a vertical city.
Explore
the building
RETREAT
IDEA LOFT
STUDY & SKY GARDEN
An indoor green space will live near the top of TD Terrace. The plant-filled Study & Sky Garden is meant for introspection and contemplation amidst a busy day, as well as quiet work and deep learning. With its expansive view, the intent is to help inspire colleagues as they quietly work and learn atop the city.
Floor breakdown
42
The intention is that it should be all fun and games on the 37th floor. The Arcade is set up like a sports bar, for big group games, activities, and the ability to watch the big game together thanks to well-placed big screen TVs. As well, the space is meant for cozier pastimes, like word games and trivia.
37
10
Colleagues can unwind and recharge on the 10th floor. Retreat is a multipurpose space that can play host to morning yoga classes, nutrition seminars or after-work dance classes. It will also have equipment should colleagues want to fit in some midday movement. It will be about relaxation and will have vignettes reminiscent of a Scandinavian spa. Experiences here might include guided meditations, soundscapes or aroma therapy.
16
These spaces on the 16th floor are all about helping colleagues work together and innovate. It will be available to be booked for brainstorming and exploration, as well as for training and presentations.
It isn't as simple as picking out functional desks and chairs. It's a data-driven process that marries form, function, inclusivity,
and beauty.
Yasmien Fadl, Associate Vice President, Head of Workplace Design & Experience on the TD Enterprise Real Estate Strategy team explains this data-driven process that began with listening and observing how colleagues currently work and congregate in certain spaces.
Lemay designers considered coziness, warmth, ambient chatter, sunlight and more when creating formal to informal workspaces.
The interior design will also be inspired by nature, or the concept of biophilia – hypothesized as our desire to commune with nature.
From the carpet and walls to the furniture and wayfinding iconography, there will be nods to nature throughout the building. Think wooden elements and accents, colours, textures and more.
Gordon Gill's architectural firm designs some of the most iconic buildings in the world – such as the Central Park Tower in New York City and the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia. But for Gill, TD Terrace feels deeply personal.
"This project was very attractive [to me] because I grew up in Toronto. My family is here, even though I live in Chicago. I had a lot of pressure from my family to do well," jokes Gill, who is Design Partner at Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture.
Hover over the
photographs to
learn more
Click the floors below to see more
ARCADE
“
Gill explains that not only does TD Terrace need to help better the colleague experience, but it must benefit the community as well; it's important that the building fits into the fabric of the skyline and the neighbourhood where it's located.
Everything about it is intentional. Its unique shape, for instance, which becomes wider as it goes up and then tapers towards the top where it slopes helps shed the downward force of the wind, so it's more comfortable at the pedestrian level.
Everything is intentional
When we design buildings, we're thinking 50-100 years into the future, well beyond our life span," Gill says.
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A final message
to our colleagues
