[Hydrogen]

So is it bad just because it's classical architecture, or is it bad because it's a blatantly poor attempt at classical architecture?

I'd say the latter. It looks like stacks of fireplaces.

 

[Ramako]

I'd say the latter. It looks like stacks of fireplaces.

At least they'll look cozy in the winter.

 

[Hydrogen]

I don't mind faux-lite - when it's done well.

However, this stuff looks a little too wedding-cake. They could have done some nice brickwork finishes, or something else that would have blended these structures a little better within the area. Instead, these just seem to be shouting "look at me!" too much.

 

[Hipster Duck]

I too like the classically looking towns on Scollard ... negative comments on these townhouses don't suprise me though, cuz new building that 'attempt' to be classical generally don't seem to fetch good responses on UT

Not true. Most people - myself included - were pretty sympathetic about Robert AM Stern's design for 1 St. Thomas.

If you are going to attempt a Palladian villa in the 21st century, you'd better get the details right: the massing, the symmetry, the materials, the mullions on the windows, the Rennaisance window frames. Stern can somehow pull this off and make it look like a class act, while anything less is garbage.

 

[adma]

Well, even if the details wind up a bit "off", there's still something not totally unlikeable here, i.e. less hackneyed in a Chedingtonista way, and more hearkening back to the 80s when Bofill-type work still seemed an intriguing novelty...

 

[ProjectEnd]

Phase II render below.

 

[Solaris]

I'm lining up for phase 2 already ~

 

[Urban Shocker]

Poor little Scollard Street. What on earth has it done to deserve such pretentious rubbish?

 

[Solaris]

December 9 2008 update

cladding is near complete @ 80 Yorkville ~

80 Yorkville

100 Yorkville

 

[drum118]

 

[egotrippin]

Not true. Most people - myself included - were pretty sympathetic about Robert AM Stern's design for 1 St. Thomas.

If you are going to attempt a Palladian villa in the 21st century, you'd better get the details right: the massing, the symmetry, the materials, the mullions on the windows, the Rennaisance window frames. Stern can somehow pull this off and make it look like a class act, while anything less is garbage.

The whole statement I agree with, but the materials bit I especially agree with. The materials and artful detailing are a very important aspect of classical buildings. Cheesy columns and unadorned facades made from precast concrete just don't cut it.

 

[Ramako]

I just want to highlight this photo for anyone, like me, who is still slightly mystified by how a crane sits and moves within a building.

 

[Tewder]

That building forms quite a view terminus. Too bad the design doesn't exploit it a bit more.

 

[Edward Skira]

Meanwhile if you did a 180 degree turn you'd see the Stern building do just that.

 

[OldManKensey]

I have always wondered how cranes move inside a building as well. It looks from that photo as if the base of the crane no longer goes all the way to ground level -- is that the case? Wouldn't it have to be bolted into the concrete pad at the foundation level throughout the construction process?