Leslie Dan Pharmacy Building Edit Building

Identification

Approximate Address - 144 College Street [map]

City - Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Region - Greater Golden Horseshoe

Nearby Buildings - Ontario Power Building, Toronto General Hospital Urquhart, MaRS Discovery District - East Tower, MaRS Discovery District - Heritage Building, MaRS Discovery District - South Tower, Mount Sinai, Toronto Centre for Phenogenomics, Princess Margaret South Building, Princess Margaret Hospital, U of T - 166 College

Technical

Type - High-Rise

Designation - Educational, Office

Status - Complete

Height - 56m184feet

Floors - 12

Companies

Architect - Norman Foster

Developer - University of Toronto

Building Record History

2005 - Complete

Reference Material

Contributors: Mark Simpson, Rod Taylor

• Hume, Christopher. (2006, 27 April). "Brit design good medicine". Toronto Star.

  Though delayed, Norman Foster has arrived in Toronto. England's most celebrated architect, formally Lord Foster of Thames Bank, a Pritzker Prize winner and Tony Blair's personal architectural adviser, he has worked around the globe, and, finally, has made it to this city.

  The University of Toronto's Leslie Dan Pharmacy Building, which will be finished late next month, is not only his first project in this city, but this country.

  Sitting on the northwest corner of College St. and University Ave., this handsome 12-storey lantern building consists of a box atop a box.

  Interesting, too, that Foster pursued the project; with a construction budget of $65 million, it isn't the kind of commission that's going to make international headlines. On the other hand, it provides a way into the Canadian market, which despite its grinding conservatism, is worth the effort.

  For the U of T, which spent its years in the architectural wilderness, the new building — and others, most notably the Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research (Behnisch & Behnisch, with Architects Alliance) just down the road — represents some kind of redemption.

  And Hindmarsh points out, its proximity to the hospital district on University Ave. and the MARS (Medical and Related Sciences) complex directly east will ensure the Dan Building becomes an intellectual centre. The official opening is set for Sept. 6, but already the building has done wonders for the health of architecture in Toronto.

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