[Solaris]

June 5 2009 update

The 4 Rouge Bijou sisters ...

The rooftop architectural element on Rouge Bijou (bldg 'A') is near complete ... definitely adds a nice touch to the building and sets it apart from the other three boring Rouge Bijou buildings ~

 

[ProjectEnd]

Not ground-breaking, or even my cup of tea for that matter, but they seem to have laid off the faux-historicist touches and for that, I don't hate it.

 

[Solaris]

July 8 2009 update

Rouge Bijou (bldg 'A') will someday be finished ~

North side of Rouge Bijou (bldg 'A')

North side of Rouge Bijou Terraces (bldg 'B')

North side of Rouge Bijou Promenade (bldg 'C') - seems like occupancy began

North side of Rouge Bijou Arbor (bldg 'D') - seems like occupancy began

I find it ironic that buildings C+D gets occupancy first although buildings A+B were the first ones going on sale ~

 

[laurie gordon]

If they fill those condos before any retail is built, the residents will all establish car-dependant shopping patterns that will be hard to break. Why not let enterprizing small-businessmen operate out vans, stalls, portables, etc. until permanent shops are built? I'm not thinking of all retail needs, but the everyday small stuff, like a coffee shop, burger joint, corner store, dry cleaner, green grocer, etc. Proximity to Motorola, Honeywell and IBM should help get these enterprises going.

 

[Alex S]

I get the impression that they want to attract higher end business/retail. I don't think a Gucci (<-- a bit ambitious I know) is willing to operate out of a van.

 

[unimaginative2]

I really think Toronto has to get away from those weather protection "arcades" or whatever they're called. I'm talking about setting back the ground floor retail behind big columns. I find them oppressive and quite unattractive, and they rarely serve their purpose: they tend to be blocked at various points so they don't make a continue weather protected passageway.

My biggest problem with Markham Centre is the way it turns it back on the GO station. That should be the centre of the community, but instead it faces the back of low-rise condos.

Still, this is a pretty good development. I hope it works out.

 

[laurie gordon]

Hi Alex,

If they are not just paying lip-service to a walkable community, they will need these low-end shops more than Guccis. High end shops are lovely, (if you have the cash), but they tend to be destinations most people only shop at occassionally, but are willing to go a fair distance to get to. It would be sad to see a Downtown Markham where the shopping district is jammed with cars from outside the neighbourhood, while the locals drive elsewhere to buy their bread and milk.

Neighbourhoods grow and evolve. It's hard, hard, hard to plunk down a thriving, multi-use community where there was nothing before. By thinking outside the box, and accepting a tacky but cheap local provision of services right away, they could kick-start the shop local habit. We definately want larger, more specialized, and higher-end stores in the mix, but I think it would be a mistake to start moving people into the area with no local ammenities at all. Even a weekly farmer's market would be a start!

 

[Urban Shocker]

I really think Toronto has to get away from those weather protection "arcades" or whatever they're called. I'm talking about setting back the ground floor retail behind big columns. I find them oppressive and quite unattractive, and they rarely serve their purpose.

Many of the architects who include them in their buildings don't seem to have considered how people might actually use them. Mostly, they're half-hearted extensions that compete with the sidewalks and there's rarely a reason to duck under one. We could actually have a useful pedestrian network of porticos ( given our weather ) if they extended right across the sidewalk to the street. But then we'd be Bologna, not Toronto.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Wait...these Rouge Bijou condos won't even have retail at street level, right? So these 'arcades' are mimicking useless retail arcades like along Bay. Maybe it's evolution: condos evolve over time but, like toe hair or appendices that we don't really need them anymore, some things stick around for a few generations, genetically wired into our expectations and what developers and planners think is necessary.

 

[Solaris]

you are correct scarberiankhatru ... there is no grade retail in the 4 Rouge Bijou condominiums ... in fact the 'arcades' being described are not even intended to be 'arcades', they are simply columns that support balconies on the second floor and help to deliniate patios for the ground floor condo units

 

[laurie gordon]

I couldn't agree more with Unimaginative2 and Urban Shocker. The arcades just hide retail from the street. Probably explains why Harbourfront retail is so pathetic. Awnings, on the other hand, with wares displayed on the sidewalk, provide some shelter from the elements, while encouraging browsing and enhancing the streetscape. Porticos sound neat too. Can you think of anywhere in Toronto that we have them?

 

[scarberiankhatru]

you are correct scarberiankhatru ... there is no grade retail in the 4 Rouge Bijou condominiums ... in fact the 'arcades' being described are not even intended to be 'arcades', they are simply columns that support balconies on the second floor and help to deliniate patios for the ground floor condo units

They're there to mimic the retail 'arcades' that will probably show up in the real retail spots further east, as well as to camouflage/downplay the at-grade residences, both of which help make the condos look 'busy' at street level, justifying their place on a main-ish street.

 

[ProjectEnd]

Many of the architects who include them in their buildings don't seem to have considered how people might actually use them. Mostly, they're half-hearted extensions that compete with the sidewalks and there's rarely a reason to duck under one. We could actually have a useful pedestrian network of porticos ( given our weather ) if they extended right across the sidewalk to the street. But then we'd be Bologna, not Toronto.

BAM!

Very true though - the portico system which shelters most of Bologna's pedestrian traffic is a great reminder of how buildings used to make so much sense. The half-hearted but no less garish 'porticoes' on Rouge Bijou simply reminds us of how, in lieu of sense, buildings now make so much money.

 

[Urban Shocker]

I couldn't agree more with Unimaginative2 and Urban Shocker. The arcades just hide retail from the street. Probably explains why Harbourfront retail is so pathetic. Awnings, on the other hand, with wares displayed on the sidewalk, provide some shelter from the elements, while encouraging browsing and enhancing the streetscape. Porticos sound neat too. Can you think of anywhere in Toronto that we have them?

I'm all for awnings and - especially - generous and legible gimme shelter and gimme shade overhangs, such as Lightbox and Corus will have.

That thing outside Novotel has to be one of the silliest porticos - it's neither fish, fowl, nor good red herring as my old French teacher used to say. Do you walk under it and pretend you're in a movie about Paris, or walk along the mean little sliver of sidewalk?

 

[Solaris]

Municipal Address

Addresses for the 4 Rouge Bijou towers as follows:

• Rouge Bijou (Bldg 'A'): 1 Upper Duke Crescent
• Rouge Bijou Terraces (Bldg 'B'): 21 Upper Duke Crescent
• Rouge Bijou Promenade (Bldg 'C'): 39 Upper Duke Crescent
• Rouge Bijou Arbor (Bldg 'D'): 57 Upper Duke Crescent