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As I walked through this massive 19 story building undergoing demolition in downtown Toronto on a warm day in June, I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed as I went through room by room of a mostly empty concrete shell. I navigated my way through the dark basement by way of flashlight and came upon a doorway with concrete debris covering most of the opening. I could see daylight coming through a small opening between the rubble and the top of the doorway, I climbed over the obstacle and found myself inside a large two story room with towering piles of broken concrete that reached the ceiling. Climbing up one of the mountains of concrete toward the ceiling of this two story underground swimming pool, where chunks of concrete some as large as a person hung precariously just a couple of feet above my head. As I peaked through the openings I could see construction equipment as well as the tall monolithic building looming overhead. A surreal experience that I still remember vividly to this day.

The Residence College Hotel built in the 1970s was part of the Brutalist movement in architecture, at 19 stories it was an imposing feature that was part of The Toronto General Hospital. Originally constructed to serve as a home for nurses working at the hospital but more recently used for student housing as well as a hostel in the off season.

©2015 James Hackland
This image cannot be used or manipulated in part or in whole in any way whatsoever without my written permission.

Description

As I walked through this massive 19 story building undergoing demolition in downtown Toronto on a warm day in June, I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed as I went through room by room of a mostly empty concrete shell. I navigated my way through the dark basement by way of flashlight and came upon a doorway with concrete debris covering most of the opening. I could see daylight coming through a small opening between the rubble and the top of the doorway, I climbed over the obstacle and found myself inside a large two story room with towering piles of broken concrete that reached the ceiling. Climbing up one of the mountains of concrete toward the ceiling of this two story underground swimming pool, where chunks of concrete some as large as a person hung precariously just a couple of feet above my head. As I peaked through the openings I could see construction equipment as well as the tall monolithic building looming overhead. A surreal experience that I still remember vividly to this day.

The Residence College Hotel built in the 1970s was part of the Brutalist movement in architecture, at 19 stories it was an imposing feature that was part of The Toronto General Hospital. Originally constructed to serve as a home for nurses working at the hospital but more recently used for student housing as well as a hostel in the off season.

©2015 James Hackland
This image cannot be used or manipulated in part or in whole in any way whatsoever without my written permission.