{"id":759499,"date":"2026-06-25T04:48:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T04:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/759499\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T04:48:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T04:48:15","slug":"inside-forma-touring-the-engineering-behind-frank-gehrys-toronto-towers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/759499\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Forma: Touring the Engineering Behind Frank Gehry\u2019s Toronto Towers"},"content":{"rendered":"

DEVELOPMENT<\/a>\u00a0CONSTRUCTION<\/a>
June 24, 2026 by Anthony Teles\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0617\u00a0<\/p>\n

Inside Forma: Touring the Engineering Behind Frank Gehry\u2019s Toronto Towers<\/p>\n

Yesterday, UrbanToronto joined members of\u00a0Forma<\/a>\u2019s project team for a guided tour of the construction site. Designed by the late Frank Gehry and his Los Angeles-based\u00a0Gehry Partners<\/a>, with Toronto’s\u00a0Adamson Associates Architects<\/a> as Architect of Record, the two-tower development from\u00a0Great Gulf<\/a>,\u00a0Dream Unlimited<\/a>, and\u00a0Westdale Properties<\/a> will ultimately include an 84-storey \u2018supertall\u2019 tower reaching 308m, set to become the tallest building ever designed by the Toronto-born architect, but currently it’s Forma’s 73-storey East Tower which is rising above King Street West in Toronto\u2019s Entertainment District, while its stainless steel facade grows upwards floor by floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Looking northwest to Forma, image by Anthony Teles<\/p>\n

The tour began with opening remarks from representatives of Canadian engineering titan\u00a0Smith + Andersen<\/a> and Westdale Properties in a gallery space at the sales office dedicated to Gehry and the project.<\/p>\n

Scale model of Forma in the gallery space, image by Anthony Teles<\/p>\n

Attendees were next taken into the tower\u2019s lower levels to examine mechanical and electrical installations, the first stop taking place in the basement-level Enwave room, where representatives from Smith + Andersen outlined the building\u2019s heating and cooling strategy. Forma is connected to Enwave\u2019s district energy network, which supplies chilled and heated water to much of Downtown Toronto. The team explained that while the system is often associated with Deep Lake Water Cooling, lake water itself does not enter the building. Instead, cold water drawn from Lake Ontario cools Enwave\u2019s distribution network through a series of heat exchangers, with Forma receiving chilled water that is then transferred through its own heat exchange equipment. Heating is supplied through a combination of technologies within the district energy system, including heat recovery processes, heat pumps, and conventional heating sources.<\/p>\n

Unlike most residential towers, Forma avoids the prominent mechanical louvres that often punctuate facades, so the engineering team divided the building into three vertically stacked zones, with mechanical equipment distributed through a series of levels higher in the tower to serve each section efficiently. The main plant room is located on Basement Level 4, a space that would typically be considered too compressed for equipment of this scale, though according to the project team, the room was enlarged relative to a conventional installation to fit the required systems.<\/p>\n

Enwave equipment installed in the basement, image by Anthony Teles<\/p>\n

The tour then moved to the generator room on Basement Level 2, where the electrical team reviewed the tower’s backup power equipment. Among the features is a large emergency generator paired with a remote radiator system that extends upward to approximately the fifth floor, allowing heat generated during operation to be dissipated elsewhere. Adjacent electrical distribution infrastructure and dedicated cooling equipment support the installation, while its location directly beneath the loading dock was selected with long-term maintenance and equipment replacement in mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The next stop was on Level 21, where representatives from\u00a0RJC Engineers<\/a>,\u00a0EllisDon<\/a>, and members of the facade team discussed the development and installation of the building envelope. RJC\u2019s involvement dates back to the project\u2019s early design stages in 2017 and 2018, when the team began working alongside Gehry Partners and Italian facade contractor\u00a0Permasteelisa Group<\/a> to develop a custom system capable of realizing the project\u2019s unconventional geometry. Before installation could begin, a full-scale performance mock-up underwent extensive testing, including evaluations for air infiltration, water penetration, structural movement, wind loading, and maintenance impacts.<\/p>\n

Sample stainless steel cladding panel, image by Anthony Teles<\/p>\n

Standing beside active installation work, the team explained that Forma\u2019s glimmering exterior is composed of approximately 1,700 unique stainless steel panels, produced through a manufacturing process spanning facilities in Italy and Montreal. Each panel begins as a laser-cut sheet marked with precise locations for bends and fasteners before being individually formed using specialized presses. Installation methods vary depending on location within the building, with the smaller residential-floor panels lifted into place using spider cranes, while larger podium-level sections required tower-crane lifts and custom monorail systems to navigate the tight urban site.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sample folded stainless steel facade panel, image by Anthony Teles<\/p>\n

The final portion of the tour focused on the tower\u2019s structural engineering, beginning with a ride to Level 32 before continuing upward via stairs to Level 35, at the current base of the Rail Climbing System, where representatives from RJC Engineers discussed how the building\u2019s form is achieved. Both Forma towers are organized into a series of vertical \u201cstacks\u201d that correspond with changes in the massing. While the primary reinforced concrete shear wall system continues largely uninterrupted from the tower floors to the foundation, perimeter columns shift position at transition levels, requiring substantial transfer structures and cantilevered elements to support the changing floor-plates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

RJC representatives discuss the development of Forma’s building envelope, image by Anthony Teles<\/p>\n

Wind loads become increasingly significant at higher heights, influencing everything from the foundation design to the concrete mix used throughout the building. The project relies on high-strength concrete, heavily reinforced structural walls and columns, deep foundations anchored into bedrock, and extensive wind-tunnel testing conducted by\u00a0RWDI<\/a>. A slosh damper near the top of the tower will help control occupant comfort by reducing perceptible movement during high winds. On the construction side, rail-climbing formwork systems have helped EllisDon maintain floor cycles of roughly a week despite the complexity of the structure.<\/p>\n

Rail Climbing System at the 35th floor, image by Anthony Teles<\/p>\n

UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you’d like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

UrbanToronto’s research and data service,\u00a0UTPro<\/a>, provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe\u2014from proposal through to completion. Other services include\u00a0Instant Reports<\/a>, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter,\u00a0New Development Insider<\/a>, that tracks projects from initial application.\u200b<\/p>\n

Related Companies:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Adamson Associates Architects<\/a>, BESI – Building Envelope Systems Installations<\/a>, Bousfields<\/a>, Dream Unlimited<\/a>, EllisDon<\/a>, Great Gulf<\/a>, Isotherm Engineering Ltd.<\/a>, LRI Engineering Inc.<\/a>, Peter McCann Architectural Models Inc.<\/a>, Platinum Condo Deals<\/a>, RJC Engineers<\/a>, RWDI Climate and Performance Engineering<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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