Should the Queens Park view corridor be preserved?

  • Yes

    Votes: 168 43.3%

  • No

    Votes: 145 37.4%

  • Don't Know

    Votes: 15 3.9%

  • Don't Care

    Votes: 60 15.5%
  • Total voters
    388
I don't know if that is a fair comment, Mongo...I think that a lot of us forumers who have been around for a while, have come to realize that there is much more to creating a liveable urban environment than building supertalls, and in fact, tall buildings may end up being unfriendly to the kind of urbanism that many of us would like to see.

I love tall buildings for what they are, and love an imposing skyline...but I would think that what concerns many of us these days is about the quality of life at street level...and I think that Dubai is a perfect example of what not to do...although I can appreciate the ambition and dynamism taking place in the UAE...

I don't sense any 'sour grapes' whatsoever here - we've got plenty of height to be proud of.
 
I agree, 1KW is a beautiful project. Totally compliments the skyline and probably the standout project of the city.

But I don't think the city needs to be known for lots of standout supertalls. I like the fact that Toronto has all these small nodes each with its own vibe. Kensington, St. Lawrence, Yorkville, Riverdale, the Annex, Queen W, etc. Contributing to that vibe is the small boutique condo's and lofts. The conversions that have been happening are amazing in my opinion. I'd love to see more.

I think a few supertalls are great in the right areas, and it seems like we're getting them, but by no means do we need them to standout as a city

Now if only the supertalls we are getting were a little more inspiring. That's one thing Harry seemed to have, a vision of something inspiring. 1kW is, Sapphire would have been. 1bloor, Aura, hell even the Ritz just looks bland and leaves much to be desired in terms of design as far as I'm concerned.
 
"Standout project of the city"? "Inspirational'?

Well, yes, it has inspired me to both laugh and cry. And to look away.

And it certainly has stood out in its poor use of pre-cast and mediocre architecture.

A project that we can be proud of? Not by a long shot.
 
Bentley said:
Now if only the supertalls we are getting were a little more inspiring. That's one thing Harry seemed to have, a vision of something inspiring. 1kW is, Sapphire would have been. 1bloor, Aura, hell even the Ritz just looks bland and leaves much to be desired in terms of design as far as I'm concerned.
Click to expand...

Sometimes less is more.


And....

Each of the bland designs you mentioned above have unique twists to their designs.

1 Bloor = lanai balconies (windows)
Aura = Curtainwall Glass Swooping Curve
Ritz = Increasing floorplates as the building gets higher.
 
I don't know much about architecture. I don't even know what pre-cast means. But I think 1 King West is a pretty cool looking building, with a unique shape. And I wouldn't be suprised if other equally uninformed people share the same view. In fact, when I saw it for the first time I remember asking, 'was that building always there?' It was after 1KW went up that I began following developments in the city.
 
urbandreamer said:
Please, I hate Harry apologists.... 1 King West is perhaps Toronto's greatest embarrassment and eyesore: operation cheapout and hideous!
Click to expand...

I don't know about the finishes or quality of workmanship. Or how poorly the project was executed and how many investors lost their shirts. But all that aside, when you drive along the Gardner and look at the skyline it's a great addition to it. Maybe the architect deserves more credit that Harry, but either way architecturally it's a great addition to the CBD.

I can't say the same about some other supertalls (RoCP, 1bloor, ect)
 
caltrane74 said:
Sometimes less is more.


And....

Each of the bland designs you mentioned above have unique twists to their designs.

1 Bloor = lanai balconies (windows)
Aura = Curtainwall Glass Swooping Curve
Ritz = Increasing floorplates as the building gets higher.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. I'm not saying these are the worst projects or that they don't have some architectural merit, but when you look at renderings of the total package, I just think "meh". And for such prominent locations, it would be nice to have really WOW towers.

Compare those to say Castlehouse in London http://www.condominiums.com/portal/images/castlehouse_condominiums.jpg

They are mediocre at best as far as Im concerned.
 
I think it's fair to admire the design of 1KW, but most of us take issue with the finishing touches... the choice of cladding and windows. It could have been a stunning building, but ultimately turned into a disappointment.
 
It also differs greatly from the rendering used to sell the project.

stinson6_.jpg
 
Bentley said:
Fair enough. I'm not saying these are the worst projects or that they don't have some architectural merit, but when you look at renderings of the total package, I just think "meh". And for such prominent locations, it would be nice to have really WOW towers.

Compare those to say Castlehouse in London http://www.condominiums.com/portal/images/castlehouse_condominiums.jpg

They are mediocre at best as far as Im concerned.
Click to expand...

That's a neat design, but Toronto is not London. They are extremely protective of their skyline, and with the kind of density they have, they can afford it.

And although development here is booming, we just don't have the wealth to compete with London. Price/cost per square foot must be enormous there, so you're talking about much bigger developers who can afford awesome design features like that.
 
ganjavih said:
I think it's fair to admire the design of 1KW, but most of us take issue with the finishing touches... the choice of cladding and windows. It could have been a stunning building, but ultimately turned into a disappointment.
Click to expand...

That is a good point, and I agree. However, I thought that Stinson had originally wanted more money spent on the finish (he had planned blue glass windows, etc.), but his investors (especially Mirvish) demanded the cheapest available options on things like windows, cladding, etc. This is from Stinson himself, so take its truth as you wish -- but Mirvish et al have never denied it.

I will add that Stinson sounded rather bitter about the downgrades he said he was forced to make by his investors, with negative effect on 1KW. Take that for whatever it's worth.

Bill
 
Getting back on topic. (i.e 21 Ave Rd)

I've heard these towers are not dead as we heard before. - When can we expect a application to be submitted to the city?
 
Well I guess we'll have to wait until renderings are available, but at the heights proposed, I can only see 21 Ave possibly meeting two of the three requirements you mentioned.

On a side note (this thread is sort of going all over the place, haha), I actually really like the way the Hazelton hotel was done. Looks like it was finished very well, and it fits in perfectly within the context of the Yorkville area.
 
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