That tallest tower leaves me cold. Design aside, the massing, while better than in previous iterations, is still not fantastic. I would rather see the second tallest tower loose ten floors and the taller one gain ten. The massing would be more striking then, less clumped.
 
It would look better to see the tallest tower over 100 storeys! We don't have any elevators that reads 100 plus in floors in this city. A new triple digit record can be created!
 
100 floors would be pretty significant. Heck, 95 is a helluva lot. I would think Top 30 including the large amount under construction.
 
Mongo said:
Might it be time to change the title of this thread, seeing that the project is better described now as "1-5 Yonge"?
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Where is it being referred to that way?

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interchange42 said:
Where is it being referred to that way?
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Upon consideration, I suppose that it would not change. The building at the northwest corner of the site would presumably be called 7 Yonge Street regardless of how many buildings are included in the development, so going from a total of 7 buildings to 5 buildings would not change anything.
 
modernizt said:
I am shocked that this is my reaction to a Hariri Pontarini project but looking at that latest iteration: "Yikes."

Perhaps it's just at that awkward midpoint a project can find itself through the iterative process. Through further design development and refinement hopefully it will "find its way home" and will all come together at the end.
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Here's the reason there are no new fully fledged renderings at this point: HPA responded to me today that the design is still being developed.

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interchange42 said:
Here's the reason there are no new fully fledged renderings at this point: HPA responded to me today that the design is still being developed.

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Click to expand...

Just to be clear, is that to say that the renderings included in the new article posted today reflect a design that is still in the process of being revised?

And, to second some of the earlier comments—there should be a massive focus on the ground-level experience with such a large-scale development. This is a huge and psychologically important slice of land, and Toronto skyscraper design is sorely lacking in terms of engaging people at the ground level. Here's hoping the next slate of renderings include more detailed designs highlighting the at-grade experience.
 
Correct re: reflecting a design that is still in the process of being revised. What's important to the resubmission is the location of the towers, the driveways, walkways, the program, the gross floor area, amount of retail, office, community centre, number of suites, unit breakdown. Architectural expression doesn't need to be finalized yet. There have been so many changes requested to this plan that until all of the above has been locked down, it cannot be worth it to spend a lot of time on the ultimate expression.

Regarding the up-close experience of the development, there's lots of retail at ground level, so that's a start. Wide sidewalks and landscaped plaza areas too. Here (like at any other project around Toronto) the trick is to convince developers to spend the money on more than just glass where you walk by. We do know that HPA have designed lots of brick into Pinnacle's PJ Condos like they have for Allied at 620 King West (I'm not saying that this project will end up with red brick, it's not the area's vernacular exactly), so HPA know how to bring warmth. It will be interesting to see how they accomplish that in an area which doesn't have particularly warm neighbours, and it is important to let Pinnacle and HPA know that you want better than average here, because they can do it when asked.

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I hope this is not going to be another wall of glass at street level. Toronto already has more than its share of retail fronted by flat glass, without any design details, contrast or colour, We need development that animates the sidewalk and gives us great public spaces to enjoy. The right mix of retail/services is important too. I just hope that in an important location like this, the developer and the city would be mindful of that. This city has already missed too many good opportunities, that we will never have again in our lifetime.
 
I couldn't agree more. The most important thing to a development is the grain. It doesn't matter if the tower materials are good or bad, the experience at street level is what really counts. I wish there could be a renaissance of diversity at the base level. Something with ornamentation and flourishings, oh I can picture it already.

A man can dream though, a man can dream.
 
I've had a chance to review the dwgs submitted.
My reactions
--design is maturing
--like the street treatment
--like the expanded sidewalk at the Toronto Star SW corner
--like the CRU space, this area needs it, hopefully the tenants project successful businesses, wow 300k+ SF, cha ching that's a money maker
--like the community centre, bit surprised with this one but given the population that will be in this area it will make sense. Dare I ask? is a school considered? Like in at Lawrence Market?
--like the idea of 10% affordable units, could be a bit more. Promotes a wider range of ages.
--disappointed at the lack of grade level walk through, the space is given up for pesty surface truck docks etc, but hey, we need deliveries, so it's a necessary evil
--like the street grid
--not sure I understand the PATH connection, but work it in!
--towers don't really impress me, although at this point it's about the combination of spacing and massing and size, but gosh seriously is 95 storeys possible? Anyway, skinny is good for shadows etc.
--didn't really look to much at the Toronto Star tower but like the mix of office at QQ. People need a place to work too.
--It's a mini city nearly, but I think is representative of the area and will work well on a lot of levels. I'd like to see provisions in the CRU to be a school in the future and I'd like to see more 3 bedrooms so that the current 20 and 30 somethings stay in the area when child 1 and then child 2 arrive.

All in great progress. I'll stay tuned.
 
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