One Queen East
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Location
Toronto, ON
Year Completed
2017
Awards

IES Illumination, International Award of Merit (2017)
IES Illumination, Toronto Section Award (2017)
 

A better, brighter base building.

The commercial office complex at Queen and Yonge includes an office tower and a heritage building. This project included upgrades and modernization for many of the base building systems. These systems included the lobby space, base building washrooms, elevators (and the addition of a barrier free lift), lighting, security, desk replacement, security systems, base building network, intercom systems, video surveillance, and the tenant amenity spaces, including the addition of shower rooms, an upgraded tenant lounge area with seating capacity increased from 64 to 90, and an additional kitchenette. All work was completed around the regular operation of the facility using after hours work crews to minimize tenant disruption. 

 

Re-lighting a landmark.

One Queen East features a heavily-trafficked office lobby connected to both the Queen Subway Station and PATH, necessitating the creation of a brighter, more welcoming space as part of this modernization. Replacing all existing lighting with LED luminaires enabled our team to significantly increase the amount of lobby lighting, while still providing substantial energy savings. These LEDs have refreshed the atrium lobby space with crisp, consistent lighting through a variety of aesthetically-pleasing design solutions. A 50-foot feature wall on both the east and west sides of the elevator core provides a clean, vertical sheet of light softened by horizontal wooden slats. Similar lighting features are provided on the mezzanine, taking the form of a cube-like LED storage enclosure and a lit horizontal partition. All feature lighting is equipped with daylight sensors, and was also designed to be easily accessible from above for uniform lighting distribution and straightforward maintenance. These strong features are offset by more delicate lighting details in other areas across the lobby, such as the linear recessed lighting embedded in the pink granite walls beside the elevators. Our team’s lighting design on this project balances the heritage of the existing building with modern design solutions, transforming the One Queen East lobby into a welcoming, attractive space for both tenants and the public. 
 

A better, brighter base building.

The commercial office complex at Queen and Yonge includes an office tower and a heritage building. This project included upgrades and modernization for many of the base building systems. These systems included the lobby space, base building washrooms, elevators (and the addition of a barrier free lift), lighting, security, desk replacement, security systems, base building network, intercom systems, video surveillance, and the tenant amenity spaces, including the addition of shower rooms, an upgraded tenant lounge area with seating capacity increased from 64 to 90, and an additional kitchenette. All work was completed around the regular operation of the facility using after hours work crews to minimize tenant disruption. 

 

Re-lighting a landmark.

One Queen East features a heavily-trafficked office lobby connected to both the Queen Subway Station and PATH, necessitating the creation of a brighter, more welcoming space as part of this modernization. Replacing all existing lighting with LED luminaires enabled our team to significantly increase the amount of lobby lighting, while still providing substantial energy savings. These LEDs have refreshed the atrium lobby space with crisp, consistent lighting through a variety of aesthetically-pleasing design solutions. A 50-foot feature wall on both the east and west sides of the elevator core provides a clean, vertical sheet of light softened by horizontal wooden slats. Similar lighting features are provided on the mezzanine, taking the form of a cube-like LED storage enclosure and a lit horizontal partition. All feature lighting is equipped with daylight sensors, and was also designed to be easily accessible from above for uniform lighting distribution and straightforward maintenance. These strong features are offset by more delicate lighting details in other areas across the lobby, such as the linear recessed lighting embedded in the pink granite walls beside the elevators. Our team’s lighting design on this project balances the heritage of the existing building with modern design solutions, transforming the One Queen East lobby into a welcoming, attractive space for both tenants and the public. 
 

More than basics for base.

The mechanical design for this modernization included new plumbing and HVAC services for the base building washrooms on all levels, the upgraded tenant lounge area, and the new shower rooms. The plaza’s storm drainage was refurbished to prevent corrosion from road salt and condensation. The shower rooms and washrooms utilize low-flow plumbing fixtures to maintain LEED Existing Buildings O&M accreditation. Flow meters were also provided for the new shower rooms so that building operators can monitor water usage. Electrical and fire alarm services were modified to support the base building system upgrades, including the elevators, escalators, specialty lighting, parking, control gates, base building washrooms, and shower rooms.

 

Connecting to history.

A new fibre-optic backbone was installed, and a high-speed data network was established to support new IP-enabled base building systems as part of the owner’s larger connected building strategy. The network was designed to support access control, video surveillance, intercom, elevators, and future upgrades to the building automation and lighting control systems.

As part of the migration of the security systems to the new base building network, the access control system was upgraded to the most recent version of the software, while video surveillance, parking entry gate and intercom systems were replaced. During these migrations, the access control security system was also segregated into two physically separate systems for tenant and base building security. The people and material flow within the building was reviewed from a security perspective, and security device locations were adjusted to assist with segregation of back-of-house activities. 
 

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A 50-foot LED-lit feature wall on the east and west sides of the elevator bank welcomes visitors to modernized lobby of One Queen East. These large lighting surfaces were designed to improve user wellness during the winter months.
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The mezzanine level, which serves as a public meeting area and occasional event space, features a glowing LED light box housing a kitchen storage area.
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Project Team