We all know that buildings don't always turn out like the renderings. Last-minute changes and real-life materials can all cause discrepancies between the vision and reality of a project. In our weekly Flash Forward Friday feature, we take a look at how different projects stack up.

For our first edition of Flash Forward Friday, we're looking at Picasso Condos, a 39-storey condominium development straddling the border between Toronto's Entertainment District and the hip and trendy Queen West neighbourhood. Pre-construction renderings of the Teeple Architects-designed highrise advertised a bold, avant garde punched-window exterior boasting vibrant shots of red.

Pre-construction rendering of Picasso Condos, image via Monarch Group/Goldman Group

A view of the near-complete project captured from an almost identical vantage point reveals that the design has stayed quite true to the renderings. While there is still work left to be done on both the exterior and interiors of the tower, the overall design statement can be fully appreciated in the image below.

View of the completed development, image by Forum contributor Mafaldaboy

We will return next Friday with another comparison!