Temporary Flying Buttresses Coming Down at FIVE Condos
We have been closely following MOD, Graywood and Five St. Joseph Developments’ FIVE Condos ever since construction started on the project. Standing 17 metres high and three metres deep on St. Joseph Street, the temporary steel bracing structure, a modern take on the flying buttresses that keep mediaeval cathedral walls standing across Europe, has up until recently provided structural support for a retained heritage façade at FIVE Condos. The structure has become a fixture in the Yonge-Wellesley area over the course of its 26-month existence.
While many of us grew attached to the impressive steel structure, its usage of an entire lane of traffic on St. Joseph Street has been costing the project road closure fees, and with the heritage façade now secured to the concrete structure behind, the support structure has served its purpose and is now being disassembled.
The delicate process involves each steel beam being attached by chains to a portable hydraulic crane. One by one, the connecting joints are cut by crews using gas torches and then each beam is carefully lowered out of the way by the hydraulic rig. When we stopped by the site earlier this afternoon, one section of the already half-disassembled support structure was being removed with only four additional sections of steel bracing left standing.
While the entire disassembly process is expected to be completed by tomorrow, there is still much work to be done on the 48-storey, Hariri Pontarini Architects – designed development, including restoration work on the wall to be overseen by heritage specialists ERA Architects.
We will return to FIVE in the near future as progress on the project continues. In the meantime, additional information including building facts, renderings and floorplans can be found in our dataBase listing, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out one of the associated Forum threads, or voice your opinion in the comments section provided at the bottom of this page.
http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2013/12/temporary-flying-buttresses-coming-down-five-condos