Toronto Star

Leslie Dan Pharmacy Building

Though delayed, Norman Foster has arrived in Toronto. England's most celebrated architect, formally Lord Foster of Thames Bank, a Pritzker Prize winner and Tony Blair's personal architectural adviser, he has worked around the globe, and, finally, has made it to this city. The University of Toronto's Leslie Dan Pharmacy Building, which will be finished late next month, is not only his first project in this city, but this country. Sitting on the northwest corner of College St. and University Ave., this handsome 12-storey lantern building consists of a box atop a box. The lower of the two is a transparent cube fronted by a row of imposing concrete columns. The upper box, the larger, is clad in patterned glass. It's what makes the building a landmark, which, given its important location, is entirely appropriate.