CTBUH/CVU Tours: We Venture Inside One Delisle

FEATURES EVENTS
October 10, 2025 by Anthony Teles 1.3k

CTBUH/CVU Tours: We venture into a Delisle

Day 4 of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat/Council on Vertical Urbanism conference shifted from the halls of the Westin Harbor Castle to tours of Toronto and Mississauga. The program offered destinations from the PATH system and CN Tower to large mixed-use communities such as M City, Exchange District Condos, The Well and many more. UrbanToronto participated in several tours. Today we enter One Delisle, now rising on Yonge Street north of St. Clair.

Looking east towards One Delisle, image by Anthony Teles

One Delisle was developed by Slate Asset Management and designed by Jeanne Gang and her Chicago-based firm Studio Gang. Famous for the rippling Aqua in Chicago, this is Studio Gang's first project in Canada. WZMH Architects is the architect for Record and Multiplex Construction Canada Ltd. is the builder. The tower is growing towards 44 floors and a height of 155 m. Major completion is scheduled for April 2027. The development will create 371 luxury condominiums in Toronto's Deer Park area.

Looking south at One Delisle, designed by Studio Gang Architects and WZMH Architects for Slate Asset Management

A pre-tour presentation detailed how the project, unveiled to the public in 2018, initially faced questions from the community about elevation and local impacts. Throughout 2019, Slate and Studio Gang engaged with residents in a series of meetings. Development approval followed in 2020, while the acquisition of a restricted site in 2021 enabled the project to be more directly connected to Delisle Park. That same year, Slate launched sales, with marketing ranging from custom project films and a proprietary font to NFT artwork tied to each of the eight penthouses.

Pre-tour presentation, image by Anthony Teles

The design resolves these conditions with a podium that reinforces the Yonge Street retail frontage, while the tower transitions from a rectilinear base to a circular form through a series of staggered eight-story volumetric modules that gradually rotate as they rise, creating a spiral profile. The design draws on Toronto's unique urban form, where the canyon system and multi-nodal structure influenced the terraced landscape.

Balconies became a central driver of the design, reimagined as a microclimate inspired by European “beach chair” accommodation. By installing wing walls and deeper terraces, Studio Gang wanted to extend their usability to the cooler months and at the same time use the modules to plant the facade. Families of modules (each expressed as balconies or curtain walls) are placed around the tower in a rotating order. Each floor slab is unique and requires individual structural solutions.

The tour itself began in the basement, where Multiplex staff led participants through the main electrical room. This space, soon to be handed over to Toronto Hydro, illustrates the logistical complexities of high-rise construction: each panel takes about a year from shop drawing to delivery, meaning the space had to be built around the equipment to precise tolerances.

Main electrical room in the basement, image by Anthony Teles

Ascending to the second floor, the group entered the outdoor terrace adjacent to the indoor pool. Here it was explained how the curtain wall system was constructed, with the second floor setting the critical base orientation from which all panels above would be stacked. Even minor deviations at this height would have an upward effect across the entire tower height.

Close-up of trim viewed from second floor common patio, image by Anthony Teles

From there, the tour highlighted the complexity of One Delisle's modular system. The tower consists of eight module families with balcony and curtain wall variations, repeating in a pattern every four floors. While this provides some standardization, the irregular panel edges mean that no two floors are the same, increasing design and construction requirements. The system was fully 3D modeled before manufacturing, components were delivered in stages and tested in a full model on site before installation began.

View of the west facade from the second floor leisure terrace, image by Anthony Teles

Attendees toured the fourth level, where the framing for the residential suites was completed. In this phase, blast walls are constructed and checked for fire safety before being closed and equipped with mechanical and electrical systems. Among the features discussed was the hardwood flooring offered as an upgrade package for these units, which gave the group an idea of ​​the suites' layout and size.

Fourth floor unit, image by Anthony Teles

The tour then continued to the 25th floor, offering views of higher-rise residences and the overlook that overlooked Toronto in all directions.

View south from the 25th floor, image by Anthony Teles

An overview was given of the automatic climbing system, the hydraulically powered formwork that allows the core to be raised floor by floor. The guides demonstrated how the system transports formwork panels, concrete pumps and even a suspended staircase that allows workers access between decks. Attendees also learned how exterior panels are “flown” into place using a crane and hoists, with the largest hoist in North America brought to the site to transport the oversized curtain wall units.

Inside the larger construction hoist used for cladding, image by Anthony Teles

As construction reaches its peak, these technologies illustrate the extraordinary coordination required to realize Studio Gang's vision for One Delisle.

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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UrbanToronto's research and data service, UTPro, provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe – from proposal to completion. Other services include instant reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from the first application.​