Add to favorites

#PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE PROJECTS

Sarah hall's waterglass solar façade transforms toronto shoreline theatre

Hall’s changes include a sleek, three-story glass envelope that wraps the entirety of the north, east, and west façades.

On the northern coast of lake ontario is toronto’s harbourfront centre theatre. the building was originally constructed 88 years ago in 1926, to serve as an ice house for freight and cold storage purposes. many years later, the structure was converted into a 416-seat theatre. recently, the building was renovated once again in a collaboration between architectural glass designer sarah hall, and german/austrian glass manufacturers glasmalerei peters and mayer glastechnik.

the glass enables increased thermal insulation, and features unique electricity-generating windows. sunlight is collected and stored by western solar panels. then, at night, the multi-story complex comes alive in an array of color-changing LEDs.

‘Waterglass’ is a visual journey through the nautical history of canada’s largest city. it includes 360 images of maps, wildlife, seasons, ecology, and historical figures–from the country’s first settlers to its olympic athletes. using techniques similar of europe’s ancient cathedrals, painted and sandblasted glass wraps the building in a curtain of transparent blue imagery. hundreds of solar cells embedded in the glass convert solar energy into usable energy for the theatre.

photographic images

Details

  • Toronto, ON, Canada
  • Sarah hall