[TheKingEast]

 

[Benito]

The hoarding and protective barrier are coming down. I like the overhang how it is boxed in with the glass.

 

[G.L.17]

From Saturday night:

 

[ADRM]

As seen in a couple other recent photos, hoarding is now completely down on the Bay side.

 

[ADRM]

Ever wondered how large, heavy, fragile, glass overhang panels are lifted? This is how.

 

[Irishmonk]

I'm thinking they could rename this section of the street to BaA Street.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

This building definitely brings out the OCD in someone...

AoD

 

[Benito]

From this morning.

 

[someMidTowner]

June 25th:

 

[Benito]

From this morning.

 

[Edward Skira]

Kind of a mess from this side.

 

[cap81]

While I understand the logistics of having vents on the mechanical units, why must they be so obvious? I find that it always ruins the overall look for me.

 

[modernizt]

While I understand the logistics of having vents on the mechanical units, why must they be so obvious? I find that it always ruins the overall look for me.

That's a fair question, but the mechanical engineers demand a certain size of opening between vents for the volume of air that has to pass through them. Architects can try to choose something that blends in or that isn't easy to see through, but it's not always a choice when you're dealing with mechanical equipment that has stringent requirements to operate properly and safely.

 

[ADRM]

Good points - one of my biggest pet peeves is when the mechanicals aren't better integrated into the overall building design. I would imagine that's often on the developers rather than the architects, though, as a better treatment would sometimes increase cost depending on the design.

 

[ProjectEnd]

I've have to say, unless they're truly egregious, mechanical elements have never bugged me. In fact, a small setback and a confident box have always appealed to me more than any muddled attempt to 'conceal' or 'hide' something that a building actually requires to function.

That said, I think it's more down to each individual project's treatment. For example, I quite like the the way some of the first Cityplace buildings (Matrix, N1, West One) featured only glass so as to expose the machines within. Wallman's similar capping of Minto30Roe has also saved that building for me. Look a bit south at The Madison however, and while the treatment is the same (extending the exterior wall up to 'cover' things), the opaque spandrel makes everything just seem heavy, lazily finished and like something is trying to be artificially concealed.