Glass has been raining down onto busy Toronto streets and precautions are being taken to make the buildings in question safer.
At least 13 panes have exploded in Toronto since December, 12 through mid-June. One pane fell from 1 Bedford Road on Aug. 16 and a woman was injured by falling glass on Aug. 15 as glass fell from Lanterra’s two Murano towers on Grenville and Grosvenor Streets.
Acting on advice from independent engineering expert BVDA Facade Engineering, who examined two of the properties in question, Lanterra has removed the glass panels and railing systems in the affected buildings at the Bedford, Grenville and Grosvenor addresses to prevent further incidents
Lanterra said the tempered glass on these balconies will be replaced with a laminated solution that resembles the type of safety glass used in vehicle windshields. Effective immediately, all Lanterra projects in development will make similar use of laminated glass designs.
“The advantage of utilizing laminated glass is that in combination with the latest available railing technologies, these laminated panels retain their structure in the event of a fracture and stay in place on the balcony should any breakage occur,” said a statement released by Lanterra.
Lanterra is working with the City of Toronto, contractors and engineering experts “to deal effectively with this extraordinary situation and provide for our residents a comprehensive solution that ensures that the affected buildings are made immediately safer in the quickest time frame available.”
Toronto Build Chief Building Official/Executive Director Ann Borooah said tests are being conducted to find the cause.
“We’re expecting to see the results of tests on glass and the installations. Once we have that … we’ll have more definitive information.”
Public safety has been a huge concern as the prevalence of the incidents has increased.
“Throughout the course of these changes Lanterra has also provided protective hoarding at all locations to continually ensure the safety of pedestrians and vehicles in the proximity to the buildings,” read the statement.
For decades, Lanterra and the majority of the development industry have used tempered glass structures that meet and exceed the building standards and codes established by the City of Toronto.
“With today’s decision, we have gone one step further to establish a new benchmark of safety that we believe will best serve the long term need of our purchasers.”
In May of this year, initial independent inspection reports by BVDA recommended the reinforcement of the balcony railing system in the Grenville and Grosvenor developments.
“Our history and reputation continues to inform our actions today, and we are committed to working to maintain and strengthen the trust of our customers and business partners,” concluded the statement.
