Photos courtesy Paul Casselman

Reaching new heights: It took 180 construction workers and 12 hours to finish pouring 10,000 tons of concrete at the Four Seasons Hotel & Residences in late November.

One Saturday in late November, Toronto's largest residential concrete pour took place at the site of the new Four Seasons Hotel & Residences in Yorkville. The impressive one-day construction project involved six different pouring locations, approximately 180 construction workers, and 120 concrete trucks.

The pouring process, planned over five months, utilized 10,000 tons of concrete for the foundation of the West Residence. Self-levelling concrete was specified to fill more than 4000 m³ (5230 cu yd) at a rate of about 500 m³ (650 cu yd) an hour.

On completion in 2011, the entire Four Seasons Hotel & Residences Toronto will have used about 190 million kg (420 million lb) of concrete. Designed by architects Alliance of Toronto, the 116,000-m² (1.25 million-sf) project is a mixed-use development featuring two towers. The 55-storey West Residence includes more than 250 hotel rooms on the first 20 floors, with 101 private residences on top. At 26 storeys, the East Residence will contain 103 private residences and connect to its sister building via an elevated pedestrian bridge. Internationally renowned landscape architect Claude Cormier designed the courtyard to be shared by the two towers.