no its not. planning couldn't give 2 craps about design. They care about the planning behind the design. density, height, setbacks, use, etc. are all considered, not "how nice it looks".
 
They have or currently do care about design when it comes to projects like M+G, 43 Gerrard, and the now dead Gansevoort Hotel.
 
The Gansevoort Hotel in the distillery is a particularly good example because the city approved two normal box-with-balconies tower on top of heritage structures (which also happen to be taller and more dense) less than a block away.
City planners do care about design, and are eager to crush anything that is outside of their limited vision for Toronto architecture.
http://www.urbantoronto.ca/database/projects/gansevoort-hotel-condos
 
From today's Star


Residents of a north Toronto apartment building have gone five weeks without heat or hot water and say patience for their landlord to fix the problem is starting to wear thin.

“It’s gotten to the point where most of the tenants are feeling pretty demoralized,†said Daniel Simon, who represents the tenants’ association at 2779 Yonge St., an 80-year-old four-storey brick apartment building north of Eglinton Ave.

The building’s furnace has been out of commission since Feb. 11, but landlord Bianca Pollak told the Star the heating system is being fixed.

“We are replacing the whole heating system and whole hot-water system,†said Pollak, who hired a contractor who has been on site for more than a week.

“We are trying absolutely everything to restore heating as soon as possible,†she said.

After residents took her to the Landlord Tenant Board (LTB) last month, Pollak was ordered to put them up in a hotel until she is able to make the necessary repairs to get the heat back on.

Yet some who live there suspect Pollak is dragging her feet because of an application to demolish the building and replace it with a condo complex designed by British architect Will Alsop, whose work includes the OCAD University building on McCaul St.

“While she claims she is ‘doing all she can,’ she only started work repairs and accommodations after three weeks, when the LTB ordered her to do so,†Andrew Gallagher, a tenant since 2011, wrote in an email Monday.

“She bought these buildings with the intention of turning them around fast for a quick buck. Her goals are short term and only have finance in mind.â€

A numbered company registered in Pollak’s name purchased the building in 2012 for more than $3 million, according to property records.

Constructed in the 1930s, the building has 16 units and tenants pay roughly $1,000 per month for a one-bedroom apartment.

Gallagher and other residents say there have been difficulties since Pollak took over as landlord, with previous heating problems last year and complaints about the lack of snow and ice removal on the property. The city’s Municipal Licensing and Standards website shows a history of bylaw investigations at the building going back to October 2012.

Last Friday, the LTB gave Pollak a few more days to finish repairs on the heating system and ordered her to keep paying for the tenants’ stay at a Best Western hotel, said Simon.

Pollak’s lawyer said Monday that she wasn’t authorized to speak to the media about her client’s LTB case.

A fourth hearing on the matter is scheduled for Tuesday at 4 p.m.

“I have a feeling that if the LTB did not step in and address this situation, we would have been without heat and hot water for much, much longer than this,†said Gallagher.

According to city bylaws, landlords can face fines if they can’t keep the heat above 21C between mid-September and the beginning of June.
 
verticalvillage said:
They have or currently do care about design when it comes to projects like M+G, 43 Gerrard, and the now dead Gansevoort Hotel.
Click to expand...

no they don't, they care about the over density, heritage destruction, etc. 43 Gerrard sort of killed itself. They couldn't care less about the design of M+G, the oppose it as it is 3 85ish floor towers that rip down several historically designated structures, which at the leadership of city council that have been told to preserve.
 
innsertnamehere said:
no they don't, they care about the over density, heritage destruction, etc. 43 Gerrard sort of killed itself. They couldn't care less about the design of M+G, the oppose it as it is 3 85ish floor towers that rip down several historically designated structures, which at the leadership of city council that have been told to preserve.
Click to expand...

Our chief planner also thinks it is architecturally trite, but I'm sure that is just a personal rather than an official view...
 
planners are not allowed to deny a building on looks, as far as I know. they have to look at the metrics, whether that be setbacks, FAR ratios, height, historic preservation, land use, etc.
 
planners don't grant approvals based on looks ... but the Urban Design section of City Planning would have a say in the development approval process
 
The mohawk box was cool but I still like it without. This screening system could produce interesting results as well.
 
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