This full-day tour begins with a pickup from the Westin Hotel and transports participants to RWDI’s headquarters, where you’ll experience their world-renowned wind tunnel facilities and modeling shop. You’ll have the opportunity to engage with Motioneering’s damper prototypes and scale models, and explore a gallery showcasing decades of iconic project models. Lunch will be provided onsite, accompanied by a live demonstration and discussion highlighting the latest innovations in climate and performance computational tools.

In the afternoon, the group will return to downtown Toronto, with a special stop at 488 University Avenue Residences — a bold 37-storey vertical addition of residential units atop an existing 18-storey office building. This project was the first high-rise to incorporate a spread-tuned, bi-directional Tuned Sloshing Damper (TSD) system, and was made possible by the early integration of into the design process. Representatives from RWDI and Motioneering will lead a behind-the-scenes tour of the tower and its TSD system, sharing technical insights, challenges faced, and lessons learned from this unique high-rise project.

Time: 9:00 AM–5:00 PM 
Presenters/Tour Leads: Senior representatives from RWDI and Motioneering. 
Meeting Point: Lobby of Westin Harbour Castle, 1 Harbour Square, Toronto, ON M5J 1A6, Canada
Getting Here: Transportation will be provided from Westin Harbour Castle to Guelph and back. Attendees are responsible for being in the lobby of Westin Harbour Castle at 9:00am.

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Image Credits: Courtesy of RWDI

The CN Tower’s Lower Observation Level, perched 342 meters above the ground, recently underwent a full transformation. This tour will offer a behind-the-scenes look at an unprecedented renovation to one of Canada’s most iconic landmarks. Participants will have the opportunity to hear about constructing at great heights, visit rarely seen back-of-house spaces, and experience a guided walkthrough of the renovated Observation Level, which includes new features such as a sloped structural glass enclosure that allows visitors to lean over the city, a revitalized exterior experience and expansion of the observation area, a 40-ft-long floor-to-ceiling immersive video wall, and a sculptural ceiling system that honors the tower’s radial architecture.

Time: 8:30 AM–11:00 AM  
Presenters/Tour Leads: Peter George, Chief Operating Officer, CN Tower; Andre D’Elia, Partner, Superkül; Will Elsworthy, Principal, Superkül; Mike Verity, Principal, Orest Boszko, Principal, and Justin Howell, Vice President of Operations, Boszko & Verity.
Meeting Point: CN Tower Main Entrance, under the canopy at the security entrance. 290 Bremner Blvd, Toronto, ON M5V 3L9, Canada
Getting Here: Attendees are responsible for their own transportation to/from the tour. The meeting point is approximately an 18-minute walk from the conference hotel, Westin Harbour Castle.

Image Credits: © Mike Davidson

In response to rapid enrollment growth, limited land assets within an intensifying urban core, and the need to consolidate four disparate departments of the faculty of health sciences, Toronto Metropolitan University developed an ambitious project brief for the Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex. The building developed as a vertical campus in response to challenges presented by a confined, urban site. 

Programmatically, the four academic departments – the Schools of Nursing, Midwifery, Nutrition, and Occupational and Public Health – share space with technology-rich classrooms, a digital fabrication lab, flexible research facilities, university administration and a 330-bed residence. A continuous thread of public space, described in vibrant orange cladding, connects these diverse programs to each other and to the city beyond. The project has earned several accolades, including the CTBUH Award of Excellence (Mixed-Use) in 2021.  

Time: 9:00 AM–12:00 PM 
Presenters/Tour Leads: Jon Loewen, Design Principal, Perkins&Will; senior representative from Toronto Metropolitan University.  
Meeting Point:  Building entrance, 288 Church St, Toronto, ON M5B 1Z5, Canada 
Getting Here: Attendees are responsible for their own transportation to/from the tour. The meeting point is approximately 24 minutes by public transit from the conference hotel, Westin Harbour Castle.

Image Credits: © Tom Arban (left and bottom right) and Ryerson DCC (top right)

With over 80 skyscrapers already built and 36 more currently under construction—including 2 supertalls—Toronto is the skyscraper capital of Canada and the third in North America. But it wasn’t always like this. Toronto’s skyscraper history is only about 100 years old and continues to evolve to this day. 

Join us on a walk through the Financial District as we visit towers from each era of Toronto’s race to the sky, starting from some of the city’s earliest skyscrapers at the beginning of the 20th century, through the ornate art deco structures of the 1920s, the minimalist designs of the 1960s, and ending with the glass giants currently under construction. At each stop we’ll talk about the technological innovations that made each generation possible, as well as the social, political and economic conditions that shaped their architecture, layouts and heights. We’ll also discuss how each generation of towers related to its surrounding streetscape, and the public spaces that began to form around them. Included in this tour of some of Toronto’s most well-known skyscrapers including Commerce Court North, the Toronto Dominion Centre, and CIBC Square.  

Time: 1:30PM – 3:30PM
Presenters/Tour Leads: Joël León Danis, Executive Director, Toronto Society of Architects 
Meeting Point:  Southwest corner of Yonge and Melinda, 69 Melinda St, Toronto, ON M5E 1H5, Canada 
Getting Here: Attendees are responsible for their own transportation to/from the tour. The meeting point is approximately a 13-minute walk from the conference hotel, Westin Harbour Castle.

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Image Credits: © Destination Toronto

Join us for a guided tour through the laneways and back alleys that knit together the historic King West neighborhood, where the charm of brick-and-beam industrial architecture meets cutting-edge urban development. We will explore three landmark projects that are reshaping this evolving district: King & Portland, BIG on King, and The WELL, along with the urban fabric which binds these spaces together.  
 

Discover how each of these transformative developments responds to and is inspired by the historical fabric of King West, blending past and present in compelling and innovative ways. 

Time: 9:00AM – 12:00PM
Presenters/Tour Leads: Lesley Williams, Associate Director, Development, Allied; Gord Oughton, SVP, National Leasing, Allied; Michael Conway, Associate Partner, Hariri Pontarini Architects; Guillaume Paradis, Partner, CCxA; Adrian Price, Principal, Building Design Partnership.
Meeting Point:  King Portland Centre lobby, 620 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V 1M6, Canada
Getting Here: Attendees are responsible for their own transportation to/from the tour. The meeting point is approximately 26 minutes by public transit from the conference hotel, Westin Harbour Castle.  

Special Instructions: This tour will visit BIG on King, an active construction site requiring closed-toed, durable shoes. Additional PPE will be provided on-site.  

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Image Credits: Courtesy of Hariri Pontarini Architects. The Well (left); BIG on King (upper right); King & Portland (bottom right)

Soaring above Mississauga at 62 stories, M1 and M2 are more than Mississauga’s tallest towers, they are the defining landmark of Mississauga’s bold new downtown core.  The towers’ undulating geometry is a result of the unique application of seven floor plates that twist the building as it rises.  The floor plates take turns skewing to each extreme as the building rises, stacking in a repetitive pattern. The inaugural towers feature close to 800 units each and introduce a new type of living to Mississauga with hotel-style amenities, including a rooftop skating rink, swimming pool, kids play spaces, splash pad, fitness centre and wellness spaces.  
 
Attendees will enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at the full scope of the eight-tower M City master plan, including a guided walkthrough of completed M1 and M2, under-construction M3, M4, and M5, and insights into the project’s public realm strategy over two acres of parkland and its connection to Mississauga’s shifting urban fabric. 

Time: 8:00AM – 12:00PM
Presenters/Tour Leads: Senior representatives from Rogers Real Estate Development, Urban Capital, CORE Architects, Arcadis, and Hariri Pontarini Architects. 
Meeting Point:  Lobby of Westin Harbour Castle, 1 Harbour Square, Toronto, ON M5J 1A6, Canada
Getting Here: Transportation will be provided from Westin Harbour Castle to Mississauga and back. Attendees are responsible for being in the lobby of Westin Harbour Castle at 8:00am.

Special Instructions: This tour will visit projects that are actively under construction requiring closed-toed, durable shoes. Additional PPE will be provided on-site.

Image Credits: © Rogers Real Estate Development / Urban Capital

One Delisle is a striking 47-storey tower that reimagines sustainable urban growth and redefines Toronto’s skyline with its sculptural, spiralling design. The project spans 520,000 square feet and includes 371 suites. Conceived as a future landmark, the building features a dynamic façade specifically designed for Toronto’s climate and lifestyle. Comprised of a series of hooded modules, with balconies set within them and generous terraces atop, these components spiral up the tower to provide shade and wind protection, creating vibrant indoor-outdoor environments that can be used both in summer and the shoulder seasons. One Delisle’s innovative form transitions from a square base to a circular crown, creating a distinctive silhouette that sets it apart from any other development in the city.​

Attendees can expect to see One Delisle nearing its topping-off milestone, with façade and glazing work advancing up the tower, while interior finishes progress on the lower floors. This is a rare opportunity to witness a future landmark taking shape.

Time: 1:30PM – 4:30PM
Presenters/Tour Leads: Senior representatives from Slate/Globizen, Studio Gang, and Multiplex 
Meeting Point: Mezzanine floor, 10 Delisle Ave, Toronto, ON M4V 3C6, Canada
Getting Here: Attendees are responsible for their own transportation to/from the tour. The meeting point is approximately 30 minutes by public transit from the conference hotel, Westin Harbour Castle. The meeting point for this tour is a strictly no-smoking building, both inside and outside. Thank you for your understanding.

Special Instructions: This is an active construction site requiring closed-toed, durable shoes. Additional PPE will be provided on-site. However, as supplies will be limited, local attendees are kindly requested to bring their own PPE if available.  

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Image Credits: © Studio Gang

The PATH, Toronto’s underground walkway system connects more than 75 properties, linking 30 kilometers of shopping, services, and entertainment through a system of corridors lined with more than 1,200 retail shops. Numerous key junctions on the network provide larger multi-story gathering spaces animated with natural light, landscaping, public art, and fountains. Projects like PATH show that pedestrian networks connecting major buildings in downtown areas can be much more than tunnels and bridges – with sufficient planning and oversight, they become genuine urban neighborhoods. 

The PATH is featured in the latest CTBUH Technical Guide, The Space Below: Connecting People, Transit and Tall Buildings, which investigates 10 other such networks around the world, surveying their benefits, drawbacks and typological characteristics.  

James Parakh will provide a history of the PATH network highlight some of its important spaces. Participants will then tour the network, visiting several tall buildings and open spaces along the way. These include: 

• 100 Adelaide Street West 
• First Canadian Place, presently Canada’s tallest building 
• TD Centre 
• Commerce Court 
• Brookfield Place and the Galleria  
• Union Station 
• CIBC Square and its Sky Park 
• Maple Leaf Square

Time: 9:00AM – 12:00PM or 1:30PM – 4:30PM
Presenters/Tour Leads: James Parakh, Urban Design Manager, City of Toronto Planning Department; Patrick Fejér, CEO, Principal, B+H; Daniel Safarik, Director, Research and Thought Leadership, CTBUH.
Meeting Point:  B+H Architects office, 320 Bay St. #200, Toronto, ON M5H 4A6, Canada
Getting Here: Attendees are responsible for their own transportation to/from the tour. The meeting point is approximately 10 minutes by public transit from the conference hotel, Westin Harbour Castle. The walk will conclude at Waterpark Place, just across the street from The Westin Harbour Castle.

Image Credits: © Terri Meyer Boake

Join us for a construction tour of a landmark project rising next to the CTBUH conference hotel. The 106-story SkyTower is set to become the tallest building in Canada. SkyTower will feature over 950 residential suites and the podium will include extensive retail, a pedestrian mid-block connection, rooftop amenities, and a 220-room hotel. To make an architectural statement and mitigate wind-induced loads, SkyTower features a glazed, twelve-sided exterior and a tapered form with chamfered corners. This dynamic project marks the latest phase of Pinnacle One Yonge, the mixed-use development located on Toronto’s waterfront where Lake Ontario meets Yonge Street, considered North America’s longest, stretching 1,896 kilometers (1,178 miles) to the border with Manitoba. 
 
Participants will join small group guided tours that will include the design evolution, envelope design, structural design, construction process, and programming considerations for wind. 

Time: 1:30PM – 4:30PM
Presenters/Tour Leads: Senior representatives from Hariri Pontarini Architects and Pinnacle International. 
Address: 34 Freeland Street, Suite 101, Toronto ON M5E 1L7, Canada
Meeting Point:  Download a PDF of the exact meeting point
Getting Here: Attendees are responsible for their own transportation to/from the tour. The meeting point is approximately a six-minute walk from the conference hotel, Westin Harbour Castle. 

Special Instructions: This is an active construction site requiring closed-toed, durable shoes. Additional PPE will be provided on-site. However, as supplies will be limited, local attendees are kindly requested to bring their own PPE if available.  

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Image Credits: Courtesy of Hariri Pontarini Architects

T3 Bayside and Limberlost Place are two new tall timber buildings that are redefining the architecture of Toronto’s waterfront.  

T3 Bayside was built on the T3 concept: Timber, Transit, and Technology. Situated in Toronto’s newest and most dynamic live-work-play neighborhood, T3 Bayside captures the creative energy of the historic brick-and-beam buildings, pairing it perfectly with technology, style, amenities and sustainability. Attendees can look forward to breathtaking views of the beautiful Bayside Community waterfront from the rooftop terrace, along with stunning city views from the 10^th floor. Other points of interest include move-in ready show suites, a state-of-the-art fitness facility, a secure bicycle storage facility and tenant amenity lounges with built in AV equipment.  

Limberlost Place is a 10-story mass timber academic building which won last year’s CTBUH Innovation and Structure Awards. Learn about the building’s most distinctive features, including: solar chimneys and a natural ventilation strategy; high-performance prefabricated façade enclosures and daylight harvesting; district heating and cooling system with no gas fired equipment; 9-meter-span timber-concrete composite beamless floor construction; and the striking 3-storey mass timber columns that define the Learning Landscape social commons space on the ground floor. 

Time: 9:00AM – 12:15PM
Presenters/Tour Leads: Hailey Quiquero, Technical Manager & Steven Street, Executive Director, WoodWorks Ontario; Myles Millard, Managing Director, Hines; Nerys Rau, Director, Design and Construction and Project Director, George Brown College; Carol Phillips, Partner & Phil Silverstein, Principal, Moriyama Teshima Architects; Mike Love, Senior Superintendent, PCL.
Meeting Point:   T3 Bayside, 251 Queens Quay E, Toronto, ON M5A 0X3, Canada
Getting Here: Attendees are responsible for their own transportation to/from the tour. The meeting point is approximately a 15-minute walk from the conference hotel, Westin Harbour Castle.

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Image Credits: Courtesy of George Brown College (left and top right) and Hines (bottom right)

At 236m, 47 stories, and located at Front and Simcoe streets, TD Terrace is a distinctive and timeless addition to the already iconic Toronto skyline. The tower’s geometry addresses the downtown Financial District with a nod to Union Station and the heart of the City. With 360-degree views, corner office spaces open to the City and Lakefront through its signature sawtooth facade. 

While the project is already well known in Toronto, this tour offers a chance to experience the project at multiple scales. The project’s own designers and developers will use a guided exterior tour, lobby walk-through, on-site project presentation, and tower crown tour to discuss the project’s sustainable and performance-based design. See how TD Terrace’s overall massing moves, high-performance façade, and integrated architectural lighting are advancing expectations for work spaces and architecture in Toronto. 

Time: 1:30PM – 4:30PM 
Presenters/Tour Leads: Senior representatives from Cadillac Fairview and AS + GG Architecture.  
Meeting Point:  Corner of Front and Simcoe Streets, 160 Front St W, Toronto, ON M5J 2L6, Canada
Getting Here: Attendees are responsible for their own transportation to/from the tour. The meeting point is approximately a 15-minute walk from the conference hotel, Westin Harbour Castle.

Image Credits: Courtesy of Cadillac Fairview (left and top right) and AS + GG Architecture (bottom right)

As Toronto grows upward, The Bentway Conservancy is building community at ground level, adapting underutilized spaces beneath the highway into vibrant, climate-conscious public places. This tour explores how radical accessibility, public art, and green infrastructure pilots are reshaping one of Toronto’s most controversial corridors into a laboratory for the next generation of city-building. 

Led by members of The Bentway team, you’ll walk the Gardiner, seeing stormwater bioswales, animation spaces, and tactical urbanism pop-ups along the way.  On the tour, you’ll hear insights into the operations, design, and programming of the Bentway project and how it is informing long-term planning, policy, and public-private alignment. This is a rare opportunity to see infrastructure reimagined not just as mobility, but as ecology, culture, and civic possibility. 

Time: 9:00AM – 12:00PM
Presenters/Tour Leads: Robert McKaye, Senior Manager of Planning & Design & Joshua Harskamp, Design Manager, The Bentway Conservancy
Meeting Point: The Bentway Studio, 55 Fort York Boulevard, Toronto, ON M5V 0R6
Getting Here: Attendees are responsible for their own transportation to/from the tour. The meeting point is approximately 18 minutes by public transit from the conference hotel, Westin Harbour Castle.

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Image Credits: © The Bentway Conservancy

The Exchange District is an ambitious city building project. Attendees on this tour will hear from leaders of the design team about the inspiration for this new icon on the Mississauga skyline as well as technical details on the geothermal engineering behind Canada’s tallest geothermal condominium. The Exchange District was the Winner of the NAHB Masterplanned Community of the Year, it is a complex residential mixed-use project with a new urban square, offices, grocery store, hotel, sky restaurant, art gallery and an animated and pedestrian friendly mix of shops, restaurants & cafes.  The design was influenced by the opportunity to complement and contrast the iconic Marilyn Monroe towers with a bold dancing partner—a dynamic, angular, and robust “Fred Astaire.”

Time: 8:20AM – 1:00PM
Presenters/Tour Leads: Henry Burstyn, Principal and Canada East Practice Group Manager, Arcadis; Joseph Felman, Executive Vice President, Camrost Developments; Tim Weber, CEO and Co-Founder, Diverso Energy.
Meeting Point: Lobby of Westin Harbour Castle, 1 Harbour Square, Toronto, ON M5J 1A6, Canada
Getting Here: Transportation will be provided from Westin Harbour Castle to Mississauga and back. Attendees are responsible for being in the lobby of Westin Harbour Castle at 8:20AM.

Special Instructions: This is an active construction site requiring closed-toed, durable shoes. Additional PPE will be provided on-site.

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Image Credits: © Norm Li Rendering

Toronto’s planning framework responds to the challenge of rapid growth with policies that prioritize urban habitat quality through sustainability, human-scale design, and a vibrant public realm. The Toronto Official Plan, Tall Building Design Guidelines, and Toronto Green Standard collectively aim to ensure that high-rise buildings integrate harmoniously with streetscapes, reduce environmental impact, and enhance daily life. Special attention is now placed on thermal comfort, recognizing that tall buildings affect microclimate conditions in public spaces. Updated design standards emphasize the need for outdoor environments that are comfortable, accessible, and climate-resilient for all. 

The tour will be touching on key frameworks, including thermal comfort guidelines, while showcasing select downtown Toronto projects. Aqualuna exemplifies a people-centered waterfront community and will be highlighted in detail by 3XN; Sugar Wharf integrates housing, park, and school; and Pier27 references industrial heritage. Together, these projects reflect Toronto’s evolving commitment to building high-quality urban habitats where density supports not only growth, but also health, equity, and well-being. 

Time: 8:45AM – 12:30PM
Presenters/Tour Leads: Audun Opdal, Senior Partner and Head of Design,3XN; and senior representatives from Dialog and Menkes Development.
Meeting Point: In front of Aqualuna Condos, 155 Merchants’ Wharf, Toronto, ON M5A 0Y4, Canada
Getting Here: Attendees are responsible for their own transportation to/from the tour. The meeting point is approximately 7 minutes by public transit from the conference hotel, Westin Harbour Castle. The walk will conclude at The Westin Harbour Castle.

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Image Credits: Aqualuna (left); Sugar Wharf (center); Pier27 (right) © Mahsa Habibi