I'm guessing that the lights will be coming back sometime this year...no artistic reason why they couldn't extend them further to light up the areas here. That would be great, actually. I like the idea of mosses, too. The planters made me smile, although I'd rather see the columns with the moss.

Keep up these conceptual renderings, DoubleA...they are far more advanced then most of the very amateurish things I've seen pitched here on UT!!
 
Good idea, maybe I'll try to get in contact with him. (Mike Layton) Thanks for the suggestion
 
Hey all, I'm not an architect or anything involved with development. I am a resident of this building. We just moved in a month ago and love the view (SE facing from 28th floor). I like seeing the progress pictures of these developments and felt I could contribute to show what the view of the city looks like from this building that some of you were involved with.

It's one of my favourite photos that I took one early foggy morning. Hope you guy's enjoy:
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Gorgeous shot ninjface. Thanks for posting it, and welcome to UT! Feel free to post your great views whenever you like! If the shots can be narrowed down to a particular development, it's best to look for that project thread to post it in.

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From my May 29th Development Tour of Toronto
 

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Yes, but to what end? (Other than a vague goal such as "to make it more people-friendly", which at this point is just a platitude.) Looking at it, there seems to be no coherent vision. You can add "things" like paving and lights and an artwork but it's just "parts". That's not how you design a quality public space.

Looking at it, I don't see a coherent idea for what this space is supposed to be and how people will use it.

I really wish this city left less to developers as small piece-meal projects and instead employed more master-planning. People won't make use of space under the Gardiner (a tough sell already) unless there is a strong and coherent vision for how that space is to be imagined, used, and connected.

Sure, the city SHOULD do a lot of things, but clearly it won't/ can't at this point in time. At least projects like this help. They are certainly not a hindrance.

Up taxes, dissolve the amalgamation and then let the gravy pour. Hopefully more planned change comes in the future, on a more cohesive larger scale, but we should really be looking at these types of projects as small victories and steps in the right direction.

I don't think a master plan is necessary. I really like that there are different art installations at various places under and around the Gardiner here and that its not all cohesive. It makes it more interesting to go exploring:

From a Fort York's new addition (and the lights under the Gardiner) over to June Callwood park then on to the Onni buildings, then City Place buildings and Mouth of the Creek Park, Canoe Landing Park, then over the bridge to Front St and through The Well...well, you get the idea. Each area will bring a different experience. A don't think a master plan would have achieved this at all or would have been more interesting then what we are getting. You must be still seeing a construction site whereas I see the future.

It just needs a clean up. Once the dust settles and the trees grow and decent retail and restaurants (and a new Loblaws!) come to fruition, then this will be an awesome area to live.

I will be happy if there's enough cohesion that I can from spot to spot under this section of the Gardiner without having to dismount from my bicycle to go around barriers — other than possibly having to cross at another spot at Bathurst, either a bit north or south. A succession of spaces is fine with me as long as they each provide some interest. No doubt they'll be judged by different people to have achieved differing levels of success. Based on the amount of money available for public realm improvements in this city, the most master planning we can expect from them is good flow from one to the other. There are so many things for us to spend money on, that while I want good infrastructure, I am not expecting unrealistically high levels of perfection.

Call it an art dump, and you're setting yourself up for disappointment: your negative attitude will present you with exactly what you are looking for. Conversely, understand that every developer is hiring a public art consultant who, like any professional, wants to prove their worth by delivering clever, well thought out artworks, and your more receptive attitude will have you looking for the delight that's waiting to be uncovered.

The delivery of public art in the city is a competitive process. There are a number of fine public art consultants in the city who have proven their expertise by delivering lots of interesting works of the last several years. These are highly educated and creative people who have a passion for what they do. Typically for any project several artists are invited to submit proposals to a jury for evaluation. Artists from across Canada compete with the best from around the world, and winning submissions come from home and abroad. Art consultants then pair the artists with local fabricators to create the pieces, and liaise with developers, architects, landscape architects, engineers, and the City as the development moves from notion to reality. It's nobody's art dump.

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Hey all, I live in the fort york area and walk under this section of the Gardiner every day. I was reading some of the opinions regarding the art and design of this area and decided to take 10 mins to photoshop this idea together. No worries about this being legit lol. This is a simple concept. I like the idea Neuhaus mentioned about carving the soldiers into some native stone and the text at different sizes and scales. Unfortunately I'm guessing what is currently built is what will be there for some time. I was trying to match the column colour from the blue colour of the imprint on the 'cutout' of the boulder art. Since Onni didnt plant anything green, probably because its too shady for trees to grow, I added the planters with mosses which require little to no direct sunlight. The soldiers and text are conceptual but like the idea of creating a 'gateway' connection from Bathurst street leading west under the gardiner past Onnis Local condo and then connecting to the Visitors Centre. Not sure if anyone remembers when these blue rope lights were hung from the underside of the Gardiner in the area where the Visitors Centre is built. I thought it would be neat to reinforce this 'path', gateway form of wayfinding and create a interesting pluse or wave lighting effect connecting bathurst to the Visitors Center. Anyway, Thanks for the comments. Again, this is conceptual but would love to see this space articulated a bit further.

Looks like we're getting what I wanted after all! Dream big ;)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...r-with-paths-cultural-spaces/article27280670/
 
That's great! I like the idea of it being really raw rather than polished. That's the charm of the gardener for sure, as well as many aspects of Toronto's public realm. Gritty and charming.
 
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Took this nighttime West facing picture back in January from The Yards.
 

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Does anyone have a view of a north east corner unit? Or even just an east facing unit? Can the north easts see the CN tower?
 
Does anyone have a view of a north east corner unit? Or even just an east facing unit? Can the north easts see the CN tower?

These shots were taken from the North West Unit.

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