Automation Gallery said:
A bit off topic, just south of Aura.....the city is recomending refusing the application to erect a new sign on top of that heritage bldg. at 378 Yonge street.(S/W corner of Gerrard-Yonge)
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I guess the rub n tug on the to floor above E&C has increased its advertising budget... ;)
 
urbandreamer said:
^It looks like one of those dreary suburban office parks.

That's the difference between good and bad architecture.
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Thank God we don't poison Toronto with awful suburban monstrosities such as Absolute. They just wouldn't fit in to Toronto's boxy landscape.
 
Imagine if we lived in Ohio!


After a break from viewing this tower for some time, coming back and
seeing these latest pics, all i can say is wowwwww. This building is
HUGE! It already has a much larger presence than I expected. Seriously
my jaw dropped. This is definitely one of my favorite buildings going up
anywhere in the world
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28 April 2012: One nice thing about posting my own photos is I get to critique them without looking lazy.:)

Walking by Aura today made me realize this project suits Yonge Street (as it currently stands) very well. It's plebian, mainstream, average, messy, and as cheap and gaudy as the dollar stores that line the strip. It does not however pass the NimbyTect test. It fails to relate to the buildings surrounding it. It is like plopping a big box store next to an historic site in the suburbs (I've seen it before.) The plain jane glazing, functional but not stylish design of the condo tower reflects the reality that is today's Yonge Street. It's a giant rental housing development with mainstream retail. A bore.

Let's compare the podium of this expensive development to another expensive development. Different functions to be sure, but ultimately it is the street front facade, the public face, of the building. Aura is a Blackberry--functional, well engineered but not stylish or cool.

079id.jpg



Four Seasons is an iphone--sophisticated, stylish, slick. Even the window frames look like the edge of an iphone:

100xym.jpg


One senses the balconies of the tower will be cluttered in cheap $10 deck chairs, storage units etc over the next decade.

087xe.jpg


Aura & Blackberry--designed by engineers in a dreary suburban industrial park for average ppl and sombre businessmen.

FS & Appl--designed by hipsters for the urban elite.

Aura is a future commie block.

FS/Burano/Ice/etc are future classics.
 
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I don't know if I'd go so far to say a commie black, but as others have said elsewhere in this thread, I sense that in 15 years, or far fewer, it'll be a party zone for Ryerson students.
 
everytime I look at the photos of Aura on this website, I think it looks pretty nice but I cannot get over the fact that you've got all those lovely strip clubs down the street not to mention all the flipping dollar stores as someone mentioned. for sure it will have no "community feel" much like Massey Tower but then what condo downtown really does except for those in St. Lawrence Market.

if judging the condo on pure beauty, then hand's down this one loses. I'd still give the prize to One King West as the most beautiful condo in the city so far. Four Seasons? Meh. It's "community" has cars more expensive than my house. So no, not my crowd. but again, beauty wise, it's not ugly.

Miscreant said:
I don't know if I'd go so far to say a commie black, but as others have said elsewhere in this thread, I sense that in 15 years, or far fewer, it'll be a party zone for Ryerson students.
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I think you're wrong about it becoming a party zone for Ryerson students. The building is a bit pricey to be taken over by students, and the units are bigger than many that are going up today. I lived at the Liberties at the corner of Bay & Gerrard, and it definitely had a community feeling. Certainly different than living in Cabbage Town or Leslieville, but a community feeling none the less.

I think the entire area will change for the better with a little luck. It's right downtown with a wonderful little park right there. Fingers crossed they do a good job on the park.
 
Upon looking at this yesterday from the south on Yonge, it appears the the angle of the podium combined with its large southern prow makes Aura look like the Titanic, veering off course towards the brutalist iceberg that is the Delta Hotel.
 
urbandreamer said:
Aura is a Blackberry--functional, well engineered but not stylish or cool.
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Stylish and cool often becomes dated. These new buildings have a strong impact and presence on the city and will have for a couple generations (and hopefully longer, but I'm uncertain about the building practices and philosophies). I have a like for Ikea and Honda, designed and bit well enough to meet the purpose, but at a price point affordable to those average people and somber businessmen. So you can dismiss my opinion for that. These condos should be designed first of all to provide people with a place where they're comfortable living (instead of to meet investment demand, which may be why they're all going up). Wish they could find a way to build them so they'd be affordable for young and growing families. If they met that need and lost a couple hip and stylish points I'd be good with that. It would be good for the city.
 
What do you get when you throw a bunch of senior UT members into a basement - a whine cellar.

I'd rather see more of steveve's youthful teenaged enthusiasm over all of the whining and bickering that goes on here.
 
thedeepend said:
a bit OTT on the 'sick' there, Steve
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Kettle, meet pot, and most of the rest of the well used kitchenware. You calling Steve, or anyone, OTT is major league chutzpah. And I don't even particularly like Aura at this point.

Steve, hang in there and say what you want.
 
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