[interchange42]

You can view the page at http://urbantoronto.ca/content.php?1843-Finishing-Touches-Coming-to-Lanterra-s-One-Bedford-Condominiums

 

[DC83]

I was with a friend the other day who said he liked the facade. I guess to the avgerage Torontonian, it's not that bad. Only time will tell though.

 

[Bogtrotter]

The old facade is great, it's the extremely awkward incorporation into this run-of-mill condo that is disappointing.

 

[gweed123]

I agree. It looks like token facadism instead of actually encorporating it into the development in a meaningful way. At least the James Cooper Mansion project actually kept the entire mansion intact.

 

[barit]

Horrid. The absolute worst and an embarassment.

 

[Red October]

It's an improvement on what looked like it was going to be.. but I still wish they kept the whole thing..
John Lyle is an important figure in Toronto and it's history, and his studio should have been preserved.

 

[MileHigh]

Horrid.... the old and the new is not incorporated well at all

 

[Aden]

The color combination of this building is quite outdated. The building looks too busy!

 

[Redroom Studios]

I agree with the commentary in the main post - having lots of healthy trees in that courtyard will really help to tie it all together and make an inviting space. Of KPMB's 3 major condo projects that have recently been completed, this one is the best in my eyes. Still not a huge fan of this firm's work overall though. The precast quality actually looks decent here at resembling limestone with some colour variation from one panel to the next...

 

[CityPlaceN1]

Hate the Lyle facade but would move into the building in a heartbeat.

 

[junctionist]

The trees may at least hide such an uninspiring gesture of preservation. It's too bad because this condo isn't run-of-the-mill. The podium is well-designed with many setbacks and aligned with the building next door for a good street wall. It's also clad in real limestone. The tower itself is somewhat lacking in identity, but it does have the 'hat'. Too bad it interrupts the University College vista from King's College Road and Circle.

 

[ahmad.m.atiya]

I like this building. Sure, the facade is not the greatest, nor is the incorporation of the heritage structure, but it meets the street really well and has very promising public spaces.

 

[CanadianNational]

I think the treatment of the Lyle studio is a travesty - a piece of morbid taxidermy that is neither restoration or adaptation.

Aside from that, I think the new condo has a lot going for it as a ensemble.

 

[TrickyRicky]

I'm glad they retained that building facade. I must admit however that my first reaction to the design was to Laugh out loud.

 

[neubilder]

Sadly this token facadism is the brand of heritage 'preservation' toronto is best at.

Insult to injury if you ask me.