[Filip]

Oh man, you just pissed me off filip.

I HATE PoMo!!!​

I'd rather have an 80 storey concrete dildo in that spot than this squatty glass FCP. It really really ticks me off.
If this was a timid Canadian developer I might stomach it somewhat, but this is a powerful North American real estate GIANT. Look at what they build in the states and compare to what they build here. It's enough to make you start crying.

 

[caltrane74]

I'd rather have an 80 storey concrete dildo in that spot than this squatty glass FCP. It really really ticks me off.
If this was a timid Canadian developer I might stomach it somewhat, but this is a powerful North American real estate GIANT. Look at what they build in the states and compare to what they build here. It's enough to make you start crying.

Yes they could do better, and yes it makes you want to cry. But it ain't enough for me to yearn for the days of 90's PoMo garbage.

 

[Filip]

Yes they could do better, and yes it makes you want to cry. But it ain't enough for me to yearn for the days of 90's PoMo garbage.

That would be the 80's 90's had pretty swooshes
Actually that design at 50 stories would have been gorgeous.

 

[caltrane74]

I'm not gettin' into this any further. Just come to the next meet!

ok

 

[Andrew3D]

It's on!

 

[3Dementia]

They had to penny-pinch so they can reclad FCP.

 

[Filip]

They had to penny-pinch so they can reclad FCP.

LOL! Another joke of the day? They said they'd only replace the pieces falling off, leaving us with a gigantic chessboard. It's incredible how cheap Brookfield's presence is in Toronto. Brookfield Place is an exception, however the insult is that this architectural landmark has Brookfield as its name. Like Brookfield would ever produce something of even similar quality in Toronto.

 

[3Dementia]

Not entirely a joke... "it" is being looked at and there may be some news in the not-too-distant future (they have 2 partners in the building that get a vote).

 

[Electricitypants]

Some thoughts

How could these fins have compromised the views from inside the building (and presumably below the roof fins)? I guess that without before-and-after floor plans for the affected floors we will never know -- perhaps the fins required extra steel supports, partly blocking the views?.

Bill

The Brookfield guy and the KPMG guy on the panel said that it was two things. To paraphrase:

(1) instead of looking through one layer of glass in your corner office, you'd be looking through your window plus the fin depending on what direction you were looking, and

(2) they tried many mock-ups and couldn't get the lighting to work, because it's hard to light up clear glass and even if the lightning worked visually from outside, they were unhappy of the distraction it would present from the inside the offices, and the utility of the space always trumps aesthetics for Brookfield.

Because they were going to pass off the lighting as their 1% public art contribution, the guy from Brookfield said they will be coming up with something else in the way of public art to replace it. They are also spending more than most developers would to address security in the wake of their World Financial Centre experience on 9-11.

It would be an understatement to say I don't sense a passion for architecture and design from Brookfield, but that is not unusual. Like many (but not all) developers, they are mostly all about the Benjamins. As a public company, they are especially sensitive to the bottom line quarter to quarter. Plus, Toronto tenants, like KPMG, have never rushed to support great design (ie they won't pay the incrementally higher rent resulting from use of innovative architecture and materials). I work in the commercial real estate industry, and I've heard many times that the perception is that if a tenant's space is too fancy, they must be charging their clients too much.

The main reason many tenants are willing to pay the extra rent associated with Green Buildings (ie LEED Gold certification, which BA is trying to attain) is that the tenants are actually willing to pay a bit more to appear au courant.

Maybe all of this is a Toronto thing, and that's why we don't have great office buildings. Sorry for the long post.

 

[Redroom Studios]

I just have to voice my agreement with Filip about the original design of BA being fantastic. A proper spire on our skyline would have looked great, and if I recall correctly the finish was some sort of polished stone. I still have the newspaper article from The SUN from the late 80's / early 90's with the render inserted in the business district. Even for those that for some unclear reason didnt like that design atleast it would have given us far more dramatic variation in the skyline. The current BA has decent height and thats about it... guess I'll have to wait until all 3 phases are built to see if its a success.

 

[adma]

I still wouldn't say it was "fantastic"; it was standard WZMH fare of the day, just as the present design is standard WZMH fare of our time. And unless it's something to do w/its being a logo prop, isn't/wasn't the BCE tower "proper spire" enough? (And IMO better, for its Russian Constructivist allusions.)

 

[Redroom Studios]

no doubt the building block spire of TD Can Trust Tower is attractive and unique in its design. I think the original BA proposal with its somewhat traditional sloped roof approach gave a completely different visual effect... the building was a well considered and tasteful design with top quality materials. To my eye, seeing the rendering inserted in the skyline just worked so well, unlike the current BA which does little more than fill in space (which in the end is better than nothing)

 

[lawsond]

To my eye, seeing the rendering inserted in the skyline just worked so well, unlike the current BA which does little more than fill in space (which in the end is better than nothing)

yeah i have to agree on this one. that BA centre looks like a box. and not just any box. a really, really boring box. not really high, not really low, not really slender or tapered or not really anything at all. fifty storeys. yawn. but maybe i'll be pleasantly surprised. i just don't know how. will it be lit in an unusual way?

 

[urbandreamer]

A box for boring people more like it....

 

[3Dementia]

A box for boring people more like it....

yeah i have to agree on this one. that BA centre looks like a box. and not just any box. a really, really boring box. not really high, not really low, not really slender or tapered or not really anything at all. fifty storeys. yawn. but maybe i'll be pleasantly surprised. i just don't know how. will it be lit in an unusual way?