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The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) hosted a preview event this week at\u00a0George Brown College<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0Limberlost Place<\/a> on the Toronto waterfront for their CTBUH 2025 International Conference<\/a> in October. Positioning Toronto as a leader in tall building innovation and low-carbon development, the preview, meant to build anticipation for the conference, brought together speakers, tours, and networking at the new 10-storey, mass timber academic building. UrbanToronto is happy to announce our official media sponsorship of the event.<\/p>\n To run from October 6 to 9, 2025, the CTBUH 2025 International Conference, entitled\u00a0From the Ground Up: Tall Buildings and City-Making, will look beyond height to examine how architecture, infrastructure, and social networks shape urban life. The program will feature three days of presentations and panels along with off-site tours on themes ranging from affordability and mid-rise intensification to vertical communities and livable density. CTBUH notes that more than 250 speakers, 50 technical sessions, and 10 workshops are already in planning, covering topics from wind comfort in the public realm to cost-control for ‘supertalls’.<\/p>\n CTBUH CEO Javier Quintana de U\u00f1a opened the evening with a global snapshot of tall building trends, highlighting 2023 as a record-setting year for completions over 200m, while construction slowed slightly in 2024. Through its Vertical Urbanism Index, CTBUH places Toronto among the top four cities globally for 150m buildings built, underway, or proposed; with roughly 800 buildings over 100m completed, under construction, or proposed, Toronto now rivals New York in sheer volume, yet its development pattern stands apart with suburban low-rises, dense urban towers, and a mid-rise gap that the City is working to close. \u00a0<\/p>\n City of Toronto Urban Design Manager James Parakh followed with a look at how policy and design are guiding growth, which depends on a well-connected public realm, including parks, POPS, and heritage conservation. \u201cThe challenge is not just building tall,\u201d he said, \u201cit\u2019s about how these buildings meet the street.\u201d Nerys Rau, Director of Design and Construction at George Brown College, outlined Limberlost Place as a \u201cliving lab.\u201d Designed by Moriyama Teshima Architects<\/a> and\u00a0Acton Ostry Architects<\/a>, the building incorporates real-time performance data into the curriculum and features interactive displays throughout.\u00a0<\/p>\n Carol Phillips, Partner at Moriyama Teshima, described how applying a nine-metre grid and shallow slab bands allowed the team to carve out double-height \u201cbreathing rooms\u201d at each end of the floor plates, bringing in natural light and fresh air while meeting height limits without reducing floor count.<\/p>\n Krista Palen, Partner at Transsolar, explained the building\u2019s climate strategy, which prioritizes passive operation through twin solar chimneys enabling natural ventilation for much of the year, supplemented by motorized windows, pressure-regulating vents, radiant panels, and Enwave district energy connections.<\/p>\n Mike Love, Senior Superintendent at PCL Construction<\/a>, closed the discussion with lessons from the field, describing how early coordination with trades and prefabrication of CLT slabs supported a collaborative process that welcomed hundreds of visitors, including competitors and regulators. \u201cWe knew this project would push boundaries,\u201d Love said, \u201cso we brought everyone in early and said, let\u2019s all learn together.\u201d<\/p>\n Limberlost Place will be among 16 confirmed tours during the October conference, which also includes CIBC Square<\/a>, T3 Bayside<\/a>, and The Bentway<\/a>. Registration opens later this summer, with additional programming planned such as a Leaders\u2019 Day on October 5th and an awards gala at the Westin Harbour Castle.<\/p>\n As offiicial media sponsor, UrbanToronto will continue to provide updates and other news leading up to the conference in October.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n UrbanToronto has a research service,\u00a0<\/em>UTPro<\/em><\/a>, that provides comprehensive data on development projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe \u2014 from proposal through to completion. We also offer\u00a0<\/em>Instant Reports<\/em><\/a>, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter,\u00a0<\/em>New Development Insider<\/em><\/a>, that tracks projects from initial application.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/imgx><\/imgx><\/imgx><\/div>\n