CIL Building

The CIL Building is a fourteen-storey office tower located at 130 Bloor Street West in Toronto, Ontario. Designed by the architectural firm Bregman and Hamann and completed in 1960, the building is one of Toronto's best examples of International Style architecture. The CIL building is best known for its two-storey penthouse, which was originally occupied by businessman Noah Torno and is now a designated historic property.

History

Built for Canadian Industries Limited, the CIL building's construction was financed by the Bronfman family's holding company, Cemp Investments. The building was designed by the Toronto firm Bregman and Hamann, which was founded in 1953 by Sidney Bregman and George Hamann. Their design showcases the hallmark of the International Style - the curtain wall - with a glass grade-level storefront.

In 2005 the CIL Building was purchased King Street Capital, who shortly thereafter announced their intention to undertake a major addition to the building. The addition was designed by Toronto firm Quadrangle Architects, and saw the addition of seven storeys of on top of the penthouse, as well as the removal of the large sections of the eleventh and twelfth floors. The addition was completed in 2009. Although this heavily obscured its exterior, the interior of the penthouse was not allowed to be modified due to its historic designation.

Torno Penthouse

Above the twelve-storey office tower is a two-storey penthouse, which has a separate entrance at 155 Cumberland Street. The penthouse was originally occupied by Noah Torno (d. 2004), a businessman who worked in the brewing industry for the Bronfman family, and his wife Rose Laine Torno (d. 2002). In addition to his from his professional career, Torno dedicated much of his time to philanthropic and cultural endeavours in Toronto, at various times working for the Royal Ontario Museum, O'Keefe Centre, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Mount Sinai Hospital. The penthouse is structured as two offset rectangles, is clad in black brick, and features floor-to-ceiling windows on the south-facing side of the structure. It has been alleged that Torno hired American architect Philip Johnson to design the interior, although this has not been proven. ''Globe and Mail'' architecture critic John Bentley Mays claimed in an article that, according to Brian Curtner of Quadrangle Architects, there is nothing in Johnson's papers that mentions the project, and there is only one piece of evidence that indicates Johnson and Torno knew one another. In addition, photographs of the penthouse appear in the Panda Associates Collection at the Canadian Architectural Archives which name Gordon Adamson as the designer. Because of its size, historical clout, and unobstructed views over Queen's Park, the Torno Penthouse is now one of the country's most expensive properties.

External links

* Panda Associates photographs of Torno penthouse interior: http://contentdm.ucalgary.ca/cdm/search/collection/pan/searchterm/torno/field/all/mode/all/conn/and/order/title/ad/asc

References

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Buildings and structures in Toronto
Office buildings completed in 1960