AlvinofDiaspar said:
Ramako:

Now what I *do* find interesting is that people who nitpick on relatively minor aesthetic issues at say the X has absolutely nothing to say about design excellence here, for a tower that is going to be far more prominent in the skyline.

AoD
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dont you worry, they have 4 years to do that.

I think this thread will be the benchmark for posts and views when all is said and done
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
I would love to be pleasantly surprised, but the track record of the said developer and architect does NOT bode well.
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Maybe it'll be an endearing oafish ogre, who you can't quite get mad at because it reaches things on the top shelf and squishes spiders on the ceiling for you. Fee-fi-ho-hum...yeah, but it'll get lots of bonus points for being tall and shiny and filling in a huge void on Yonge.

I think it'll probably end up about a 7/10, made or broken on what it's like at eye level, the retail spaces, and the PATH connection(s?) far more than made or broken on the tower itself which, honestly, doesn't really matter...it should be hard to mess up that sculptural corkscrew roof.
 
AoD: the reason for my "OMG":

Yonge & Gerrard may presently be the worst looking part of downtown.

Projects like Aura, if properly executed, are opportunities to really pull the area up. I'd like to see so much architectural integrity in the final product that the neighbours are eventually embarrassed into pulling up their socks.

Yonge / Gerrard and vicinity -- the unbelievably bad Delta hotel, the nearby Yonge exposure of 10 Dundas E (have you guys seen how awful that thing looks at night?) ... it would be disappointing if Aura is just 70+ storeys of shite, blending in with its neighbours only much taller; I hope for a spiffy and positive outcome, including excellent finishing of the exterior. I'll remain positive at this time.
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Ramako:

I can't speak for the others and their preferences - but the design talent of a proven architectural firm and one that isn't is clear to me from Day 1. IMO Aura was messy then, and though the DRP cleaned things up a bit, the design remains ho-hum. ....

AoD
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Working for an architect I can tell you that the original design and what gets built can be two different things. Owner asking for cost cuts on the original design and owner influence on the design itself can greatly affect the design which would have nothing to do with the design talent of the architectual firm.
 
TonyV:

Considering I work literally 2 minutes away from that corner, yeah, I am unfortunately all too familiar with the deficiencies of that area (though I wouldn't call it the crappiest area of DT). That said, the said developer and architects had the opportunity to improve the area with RoCP 1&2 and quite frankly they blew it, so I think I am more than entitled to be cautious in singing praise of this project.

Besides, great height comes with greater responsibilities - and I am not convinced that the last few proposed supertalls (1BE, Aura) quite "cut it".

Homer:

Oh no doubt about that all - which is why I brought in the developer as well in my initial post on the matter.

AoD
 
Does the newly ubiquitous phrase "too big to fail" not apply to this project? Aura will dwarf anything in the area and the tower itself, with all its setbacks, will be fairly removed from the street’s edge. The view looking up Yonge from Y&D or Y&Q will still be highlighted by the towers at Y&B with the tower portion of Aura slightly offset to the west. The most important part of this development will be the podium treatment and the first 7 or so floors. Hopefully the developer will align the Yonge frontage to the massing and height of the College Park building. The developer has a bad track record for details and such treatments but given the size, heft, and scale of this one, perhaps it is too big to fail. Whatever the outcome, it’ll just be there for better or for worse.
 
Hypnotoad:

The bright side is the DRP did result in the massing alignment with College Park - I think there is a before/after in this thread a few pages (dozen pages?) prior.

AoD
 
Hypnotoad said:
The developer has a bad track record for details and such treatments but given the size, heft, and scale of this one, perhaps it is too big to fail. Whatever the outcome, it’ll just be there for better or for worse.
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Yeah....It also a 350-400 million dollar development, not small change to be cutting corners.
 
TonyV said:
AoD: the reason for my "OMG":

Yonge & Gerrard may presently be the worst looking part of downtown.

Projects like Aura, if properly executed, are opportunities to really pull the area up. I'd like to see so much architectural integrity in the final product that the neighbours are eventually embarrassed into pulling up their socks.

.
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Yup!.. i agree,

This project is gonna be something really special... Not only will it be the tallest building on Yonge St. but it will also add lots of life to the otherwise dull intersection... This is gonna support and add to the shops at college park (and make College park more exciting to walk around in!)

Can't wait :D
 
Developers need to make thousands of descisions through the design and build process that affect the quality of the building. Sometimes they lean towards lower quality (to save cost) but, to be fair, it is often architects who resist changes that improve quality because of a reluctance to change their drawings. It sounds weird but often from a quality standpoint architects are more of a hinderence then developers. Based on everything of seen from developers I'd recommend buying from a developer who has a 'brand' that is worth something. Tridel and Minto would definetely be one and two in my books in terms of caring about the finished product.
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Hypnotoad:

The bright side is the DRP did result in the massing alignment with College Park - I think there is a before/after in this thread a few pages (dozen pages?) prior.

AoD
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Since the revised design was released, I've felt that the massing alignment is actually the best part of the development. The PRB did some good work there. I just hope everything comes off as planned.

See render.
 
Sorry, I meant in terms of overall quality of construction, not aesthetics. I’m well aware of Tridel’s ability to build ugly yet nice-to-live-in buildings.
 
Aura Site - January 6th

Taken from around the Aura site

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge, then click again on the image for full size.

 
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