The Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery expansion at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) has reached its six-story height, its steel frame now rising behind the glass roof of the museum’s Galleria Italia along Dundas Street West. Designed by Selldorf Architects, Diamond Schmitt Architects and Two Row Architect, the expansion will add approximately 40,000 square feet of new exhibition space across five gallery levels and increase the museum’s exhibition space by approximately 30%.
From the AGO staircase in November 2025, the extension shows how the fencing work is progressing throughout the new structure. White weather stripping then covered a large portion of the wall assembly to support the installation of the project’s zinc and glazed terra cotta cladding. On the left, the bridge structure’s exposed steel frame rises in a lattice of columns and beams, the framework now removed, while the structure follows Frank Gehry’s titanium-clad AGO addition. Red security fences trace the edges along the roofline.
Looking east from the AGO stairs at the weatherstripping application and steel frame, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor Ehambobam
From a high vantage point in December 2025, the extension immediately east of the Gehry Tower with its hanging, curved external staircase can be seen. The structural steel frame of the Dani Reiss expansion has reached the level of the sixth and final gallery floor, where vertical steel columns and perimeter beams define the top level of the expansion above the largely enclosed basement floors.
A bird’s-eye view looking north across Grange Park at the annex next to OCAD University, image from CanadianNational, UrbanToronto Forum contributor
Looking northwest through Grange Park in January 2026, we see the two-part mass as the steel structure nears completion. The taller eastern volume on the right has reached its full structural height, with exposed wide flange columns and perimeter beams outlining the upper gallery level and floors that will house the mechanical penthouse. On the left, the lower western structure slopes down towards Gehry’s blue titanium tower. A cylindrical vertical element rises between the volumes, while the stepped terraces overlooking the park begin to read in the mass. We see white weatherproofing and initial preparations for cladding the western volume.
Looking northwest from Grange Park towards the annex adjacent to the southern gallery block (right), image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor AlbertC
From across Dundas Street West in February 2026, the top structure shows the project’s distinctive cantilever as the steel frame pushes outward. A lattice of beams and diagonal bracing projects from the eastern volume; The exposed structural frame outlines the future spaces.
View southwest from Dundas Street West of the cantilevered upper structure, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor AlbertC
Looking west from McCaul Street this month, the east view shows fencing and construction progressing across the narrow utility corridor between the AGO and OCAD University. Towards the northern end, several vertical openings remain free, where a window column will underline the facade. Above, the structural steel frame of the cantilevered upper volume is filled downward, with diagonal bracing and vertical members extending from the projecting floor slab into the levels below. The crane mast rises next to the structure and a construction elevator can be seen behind it.
The east facade and tower crane looking west from McCaul Street, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor AlbertC
Looking southwest across McCaul Street this month, the structural steel frame now clearly defines the upper levels of the expansion. A perimeter security fence traces the roofline, while the open steel frame reveals the stepped geometry of the extension as it negotiates the narrow space. The north elevation shows the angled northeast corner of the building.
A distant view looking southwest from McCaul Street towards the steel frame, image by UrbanToronto Forum contributor AlbertC
When completed, the extension will be 48.35 m high.
Looking northwest at the Dani Reiss Modern and Contemporary Gallery at the Art Gallery of Ontario, depicting Play-Time, courtesy of Art Gallery of Ontario, Diamond Schmitt, Selldorf Architects and Two Row Architect
UrbanToronto will continue to monitor the progress of this development, but in the meantime you can learn more in our database file linked below. If you’d like, you can join the discussion in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the designated area on this page.
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