Toronto's cultural mosaic is reflected in the city's wide range of architectural styles, which will soon include a building in the actual shape of a European country.

The new $41 million KESKUS International Estonian Centre has been under construction at 9 Madison Avenue since mid-2022, and will soon rise three storeys to form a unique courtyard designed in the shape of Estonia's borders.

The 36,000 sq. ft. cultural hub's standout design from Kongats Architects will add a prominent new neighbourhood amenity to Toronto's Estonian community on the quiet block just northeast of Bloor and Spadina.

KESKUS boasts that it will act as a new hub for the city's Estonian diaspora, showcasing the country's culture while also serving as a venue open to the public for performances, public lectures, and film festivals.

Other features will include a bistro fronting the country-shaped courtyard boasting an Estonian-inspired menu, community amenities like four classrooms hosting Estonian school classes, a 1,600 sq. ft. community room, a business centre, a rooftop garden, and a music room that can double as a meeting room.

While the courtyard will turn heads on the outside, the building's interior standout feature will be the Grand Hall, a 300-seat theatre-style space served by an adjacent commercial catering kitchen for formal events.

A September construction update shared by KESKUS reveals that the building is now gearing up to rise above Madison Avenue, with preliminary work currently underway on the facility's ground floor.

According to the latest update, a massive concrete pour to form the building's ground level was scheduled for mid-September. Crews spent weeks preparing for this massive undertaking — involving a whopping 38 concrete trucks — by laying a vast lattice of steel rebar to reinforce the concrete pour.

The ground floor now being formed will eventually host anchor tenant Northern Birch Credit Union once complete.

Work on the above-grade portion is set to commence with beams around the courtyard area on a portion of the site built atop active tunnels for the TTC's Line 2. These beams will mark the last structural concrete used for the building, and the remaining areas will be built with a structural steel skeleton.