The amount of carbon embodied in the existing structure must be absolutely huge. It also happens to be a particularly striking Parkin with well-preserved details at grade. Future generations already have several reasons to look back in disgust.

Dull, spandrel-heavy, overbearing... and arguably G+C's best work to date.

Frankly, it's looking like Aura 2.0 at this point.

To put the density in perspective, the plan above is aiming for 83,500 people over 211.5 hectares, or roughly 40,000 people/km^2. That's about as dense as Sham Shui Po in HK, the 11th arrondissement in Paris, or Manhattan's Upper East Side. It's not that this proposal isn't dense, it's just a...

A dense, car-free, narrow, mixed use building replacing surface parking on a street flanked by beastly above-ground parking garages. Makes for a satisfying case study of a city clawing its way back from the depths of car-centric development.

Funny, I see the Y and I think Yes! What a nice way to open up the street corner and add a little flair at ground level. Of course, janky cladding could still ruin it aesthetically, and there's certainly grounds for pessimism based on what we've seen so far.

Great shot, very handsome indeed! It's as heritage as they come, this is the original stable building built alongside the neighbouring Little York Inn in 1879. While the hotel itself was designated in the 70s, the stables only joined the register last year. So the new design now saves the...

Credit where credit is due, they picked a pretty appropriate acronym for themselves!

This has probably come up earlier in the thread, but for anyone curious these pieces by Métis artist Kenneth Lavallee (http://cargocollective.com/knnth) are in honour of Dr. Lillian McGregor of the Whitefish River First Nation. The crane represents her family clan sign, other elements are meant...

Good! Punishment for taking the car to one of the most transit-accessible buildings in the city 😉

Another lovely design with lots of character neutered by an unrelenting expanse of window wall at grade. 😞

I'm sold that the sloping windows resemble a similar design gesture on a piece of contemporary architecture in the same genre in New York... but talk about tone-deaf concerns of the bourgeoisie. Aren't there much bigger fish to fry in this city?

Absolutely, although it does strike me as pretty tragic that this splash of corporate window film is now the most appealing part of this building's presence on QQE.

The tower actually looks rather handsome but holy cow is that pedestrian level ever bleak.

Wow, fascinating choices! Hopefully the quality of this development so far is a harbinger for successful plantings. As an aside, I'd just like to say -- as a user who mostly lurks -- that your thoughtful posts about trees and urban ecology are a pleasure to read, and really a unique...

Heaven forbid that a tasteful, transit-oriented, bicycle-friendly midrise should come for our **checks notes** local car dealerships 🤯

Huh really? For me this is an unusually thoughtful effort to integrate heritage. It's fully retained, brought front and centre to meet the street, and kept fully independent of the new building whose massing sweeps around it in deference, resulting in a more interesting form for both. Sure beats...

The railway hotels are among Canada's greatest architectural treasures. Wanting more early 20th century buildings but being OK doing away the Royal York is an... interesting perspective.

Totally fair! I'm not trying to come down on you or anyone who doesn't appreciate the cross bracing, nor do I really think brick veneers are a 1:1 comparison. Indeed the prevailing wisdom here seems to be that their functional dishonesty makes the bracing a poor design choice. I'm just trying to...

I get the feeling this might be an unpopular opinion on here but... why? Should they also take a ribbing for the non-functional brick panels planned for the Wellington facades? Or the stone veneers used elsewhere? At the end of the day, aren't they all different shades of adornment masquerading...