Traynor said:
I think the recent posts are evidence to the contrary. It sounds like they love these buildings so much that they want them to shine on the world stage. Front and center in some familiar Canadian skyline. Not in a city that has historically never shown up in an image search of great skylines. That, I believe, is the "waste" they speak of.

Maybe these buildings will help to change that, but in the meantime, we few fans here on the forums and those that live in eye-line of these beauties will be the only ones to appreciate them.
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This is exactly what I was getting at. These are fantastic towers that will undoubtedly become landmarks once they're finished, but I maintain that it is odd that it happened in a place with nothing else even remotely as sophisticated that would have visually indicated any sort of grassroots sensitivity towards, or desire for, world class design.

That being said however, these towers might just wind up having a similar effect on Mississauga as New City Hall did in Toronto in 1965. I don't think anyone in their right mind would think that's a bad thing. I'm not a troll or an enemy of Mississauga - I myself live in Etobicoke, which is not that different from it, and I'm more than willing to trash my own former borough, because quite frankly, it deserves it. I just have a burning desire to see these places transform into something far better than what they are, so you'll have to excuse the occasional emotional outburst. Is part of it based on sheer jealousy? Absolutely (pardon the pun).
 
Towered said:
This is exactly what I was getting at. These are fantastic towers that will undoubtedly become landmarks once they're finished, but I maintain that it is odd that it happened in a place with nothing else even remotely as sophisticated that would have visually indicated any sort of grassroots sensitivity towards, or desire for, world class design.
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The design was chosen by the people of Mississauga. That's pretty grassroots.
 
Towered said:
These are fantastic towers that will undoubtedly become landmarks once they're finished, but I maintain that it is odd that it happened in a place with nothing else even remotely as sophisticated that would have visually indicated any sort of grassroots sensitivity towards, or desire for, world class design.
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I mostly agree. That said, my trip to Square One this week showed me that this area has a feel that it did not used to: Absolute World will hopefully be the tipping point, and catalyst for many more good things to happen here.

Absolute World was not the first good thing to happen in MCC mind you: I know I know I know that a lot of people do not see it this way, but Mississauga City Hall is a very sophisticated and remarkable building itself. It is easily the best major PoMo building in the country, one of the best PoMo buildings anywhere really, and worth an in-depth tour, and more consideration. I'm not saying that it's easily seen as a beauty, but it is fascinating, and it rewards those who delve deeply into its details. As seen in the thread following the redevelopment of its square right now, maybe this isn't quite the right time to be highlighting it, but once the square has been completed we will be paying it all more attention.

Meanwhile, yes, MCC is not the pedestrian paradise that most of us want in a city centre, but Mississauga gets that and strides are being made to correct that. The area won't change 180° overnight, but it is improving year by year. I'd rather celebrate the improvements and continue to press for more of them, rather than constantly slag past mistakes as if they reflected current plans and ideologies.

42

PS - there are some other good condos here too: the whole Onyx block including the 3 older towers of Citygate and Solstice heralded progressive thinking at City Hall and by its developer Davies Smith years ago now.
 
I rarely post on these forums, or log in for that matter... Just someone who passes by to see updates, which is of course is appreciated if I haven't said it. I logged in today however, because of the apparent amount of hate for Mississauga, it's ridiculous. Most of the arguments are complete nonsense, and as pointed out I'm sure it's just jealousy.

Towered said:
...ie. far too good for where they are, essentially a waste. It's akin to Tiger Woods playing an amateur golf tournament for a 50 dollar gift card to Walmart.
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(kind of ridiculous, but I'll work with it...)

In the hopes that said tournament would prosper from his presence/publicity, thereby pushing it into the limelight and allowing it to gain recognition and reputation for itself. He's not there for the reward, it's a step towards prosperity and to help make a name for the tournament. Somethings are meant to be steps toward the future. Maybe one day he'll play this tournament with the pros.

Would you be angry at the Tournament, how dare they have Tiger Woods play!?
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doady said:
These buildings really are a waste in Mississauga... putting these buildings in such an inhospitable and sterile environment... it is probably bad for the GTA as a whole in the larger scheme of things.
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How do you change a place from being inhospitable and sterile? Is the answer to not change it, just leave it as is?

I didn't think so. To make something better, something better needs to happen to it. There needs to be change, and this is Mississauga's something better. Would you be angry at the smaller guy trying to make a name for himself?
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Traynor said:
There is something to be said for appropriate surroundings deserving of a valuable artwork. The juxtaposition of these world-class designs with run-of-the-mill suburban condo architecture, is jarring to say the least... They would fit in better if there was something built that bridged from crap to art.
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You are essentially saying that something with less to offer, doesn't deserve to grow. Or should at least grow at the pace you deem appropriate... but there are no standards for these things.

Let's say there's an artist, and he tries to paint realism, but is unsuccessful. His paintings are deemed "crap" and so one day he just paints freely, whatever comes to mind. It turns out pretty abstract, but he likes it. Turns out so does everyone else. Crap to Art overnight, and he made both! Does the artist deserve the recognition that follows?
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Everything has to start somewhere, and Mississauga is trying to move in the right direction.

I know some have said it's just jealousy, and I'm assuming the majority of forumers here have no ill-will towards Mississauga. The few very vocal elitists however, really need to learn that Toronto isn't the only city of importance. I know it's just a city and just a building, but I think it's the principle behind it all is what I'm really arguing...

I know this thread is meant for updates, so I'll end my rant there, let me know of any flaws in logic. I'd be happy to think them over (I like debates). Thanks for reading!
 
A question that goes hand-in-hand with recent posts:

If these buildings are in fact out of place at Hurontario and Burnamthorpe, where do they belong?? Please be thorough.

I'm a firm believer that these buildings wouldn't look better anywhere else so I'd like to pick the brains of those who believe they're "out of place".
 
^They may get lost in all the new development beside ICE. I propose we mow down the Harbour Square Condos and put them right on the waterfront. That way they would always be visible in the classic skyline shot.
 
And to prove I am not Toronto-centric only in my thinking...

They would look great along False Creek in Vancouver OR on the Thames in London, near the new Shard under construction. In either of those locations they would be on the world stage right from the get go...

...Not in some future time hoped for by 905ers that Mississauga MIGHT become world-class. Crossing their fingers that along with these towers and with a lot of planning and future projects not yet in the works, Mississauga will outgrow its bedroom community/industrial depot status and become a destination city.
 
It's only logical to have such bold architecture in a place where the most people would see it like downtown Toronto. I just hope that it makes a strong impact on architecture in Mississauga away from the timid and conservative design that typifies the place now. (That's with the exception of the city hall and Hazel McCallion library at UTM.)
 
Though he confuses Mississauga with Toronto, Yansong Ma is in no doubt about the significance of this commission. From the designboom interview:

"In the beginning I think we did too many competitions
and we only won one, however this is the one that made
us famous. it was an international competition outside china,
but made us recognized in china. this was the absolute towers
in toronto, canada. they bear the name of the property
but they are also called 'marilyn monroe', because of the
curves of the towers. this was in 2006, its already half
way done."

http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/MAD.html

It's amusing to see what happens when the "grass is always greener somewhere else" and the "bad design belongs in the 905" assumptions collide like this.
 
interchange42 said:
Meanwhile, yes, MCC is not the pedestrian paradise that most of us want in a city centre, but Mississauga gets that and strides are being made to correct that. The area won't change 180° overnight, but it is improving year by year. I'd rather celebrate the improvements and continue to press for more of them, rather than constantly slag past mistakes as if they reflected current plans and ideologies.
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This is what I've been saying for a couple of years on here now. I've lived in MCC since 1997, and the changes since then are phenomenal. Sure, more could have been done, but it's no different than Toronto in that regard over the past 10 years. Things just move very slowly in these parts. Transit and infrastructure. There are far more people walking around this area than there was even just 5 years ago. Once the northeast corner of Hurontario & Burnhamthorpe is developed, and Webb Drive is extended, things are really going to change even more.
It's so annoying how every development thread for Mississauga almost always has one of these discussions, and I would frankly love to see it be stopped. It has nothing to do with the development at all.
 
interchange42 said:
Absolute World was not the first good thing to happen in MCC mind you: I know I know I know that a lot of people do not see it this way, but Mississauga City Hall is a very sophisticated and remarkable building itself. It is easily the best major PoMo building in the country, one of the best PoMo buildings anywhere really, and worth an in-depth tour, and more consideration. I'm not saying that it's easily seen as a beauty, but it is fascinating, and it rewards those who delve deeply into its details. As seen in the thread following the redevelopment of its square right now, maybe this isn't quite the right time to be highlighting it, but once the square has been completed we will be paying it all more attention.

Meanwhile, yes, MCC is not the pedestrian paradise that most of us want in a city centre, but Mississauga gets that and strides are being made to correct that. The area won't change 180° overnight, but it is improving year by year. I'd rather celebrate the improvements and continue to press for more of them, rather than constantly slag past mistakes as if they reflected current plans and ideologies.
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Excellent post.

I have to add, however, that anyone who holds Toronto proper up as the height of sophistication clearly hasn't travelled very much. I love our city too, but let's be serious.

In fact, the endless Mississauga bashing here actually betrays a parochial lack of sophistication in understanding what Toronto the living city really is versus what it claims to be on paper.
 
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