Hipster Duck
Senior Member
I've got only 2 major issues with Cityplace: the dull architecture (so far)
The architecture is comfortably dull. It isn't offensive like, say, French Quarter or the Star of Downtown, but it doesn't standout either. They work pretty well as an ensemble, like the many anonymous art deco towers of New York. I think of Cityplace as the city's second "Emerald Skyline". Plus, some of the art projects, like that weird giant sextant, are pretty cool.
...and the density--that's right, imo it's not dense enough! (Too much space wasted by puny little podiums, dead concrete and green space. Make the area a solid 40 story streetwall! Instead of 14,000 down there, the area could handle 40,000.)
YES! It's a contemporary towers-in-a-park development and too much of the space is wasted on unnecessary green space and public squares that are about as inviting to lounge around in as a pay toilet. Also, much of the ground space is devoted to car use: turning circles, garage entranceways, you name it. The St. Lawrence neighbourhood has a higher density than Cityplace and hardly any buildings exceed 12 storeys in height, all due to the streetwall effect. St. L could have been the planning blueprint for the 21st century in Toronto but instead too many of our projects ended up being like Cityplace.