488 University Avenue - Toronto: Redefining possible in the vertical expansion of buildings

Abstract

<p>488 University Avenue condominium is a unique, first-ever designed and constructed 55-story tower, where 37 stories of residential units were added above an existing 18-story office building. This was made possible by an innovative structural solution assisted by extensive wind tunnel testing and the implementation of a tuned sloshing damper (TSO} system to achieve the required strength and serviceability performance targets.</p><p>In this paper, a detailed description of the structural solution implemented for this building is first presented. Then, the wind tunnel testing considered for the evaluation of the wind performance of the building is discussed with a particular focus on the assessment of wind-induced motions and their acceptability for occupant comfort. Lastly, the implementation and the as-built performance verification of the TSO are demonstrated using full-scale measurement data obtained from a long- term structural monitoring program.</p>