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.

A rendering shows the completed building, image via Wallman Architects

Toronto's Entertainment District is really feeling the effects of Toronto's condo construction boom, with new highrises continually redefining the streetscape. Many of the neighbourhood's most recent additions are heavy on the glazing and light on the architectural embellishments. But Tableau Condominiums by Urban Capital, Malibu, and ALIT introduces a bolder class of residential design to the ever-evolving area.

The envisioned tabletop, art feature and replicated facade, image via Wallman Architects

The recently complete 410-unit project takes the form of a 36-storey tower rising from a tabletop podium. The building's base stands flush with the angle of Richmond Street, creating a unique sheltered public piazza framed by a series of tall and dark columns.

The finished Tableau Condominiums, image by Forum contributor MafaldaBoy

One of the most striking features of the development is its highly visible public art component. 'Nova' by artist Shayne Dark is a collage of oblong and tilted green poles that pierce through an opening in the tabletop roof. The resulting juxtaposition between the darker hues of the building and the brighter tones of the artwork doubles as an eye-catching ode to the ability of art to provide a welcoming, public face to private developments. 

'Nova' creates a dynamic street presence along Richmond, image by Forum contributor MafaldaBoy

Renderings for the project were released in the closing years of the aughts, imagining the project's dynamic street presence, signature black grid frames, and replicated facade of a preexisting building along Peter Street. The design was well received by the UrbanToronto community, though as construction commenced there was some trepidation regarding the building's architectural execution. 

The executed base of Tableau, image by Forum contributor TheKingEast

Fortunately, those worries seemed to have dissipated as the tower's patterned exterior and colonnade took shape. The glazing is perhaps a shade darker than depicted in the original illustrations, and the very top level has more visual prominence than initially sketched, but the most significant elements of the Wallman Architects-designed development were faithfully actualized. 

We will return next Friday with another comparison!