This
skyscraper is one of the great visual spectacles in
the Toronto skyline. It has the ability to bend, refract,
reflect, and play with light in a way that other buildings
aren't prepared to. That's because its exterior is
covered in gold leaf. Its visage has been compared
to a huge ingot of Spanish bullion, though New Spain
never extended this far north. It's not just the façade
that helps with this dance of light. The Royal Bank
Plaza is composed of two triangular towers (one 41-stories,
the other 26-stories) that help take advantage of
the sun's low angle at this northern latitude and
bounce the light around at unusual angles. Incidentally,
the sun is the reason there is gold on this building
in the first place. The skyscraper has 14,000 windows
and because of that, incredibly high heating and cooling
bills. Having 2,500 ounces of 24-carat gold baked
into the glass helps insulate the building and makes
up for the installation cost, though the bank got
the original gold for less than CAN$100.00 an ounce.
No one has ever stolen one of the windows even though
each contains about CAN$70.00 worth of gold. That
is because the process that puts the gold into the
glass makes it worthless at the same time. It is not
possible to separate one material from the other.
- The
Royal Bank claims there is more glass in this skyscraper
than any other in the world.
- There
is enough gold on the surface of the building to
mint 50,000 maple leaf coins.
