[taal]

And American office towers are almost always better looking than Canadian because they have the bigger companies

Is this a joke ? Why does this make them look better; I'd argue Canada has many good if not better looking office buildings then the states.

Now your argument that, on average commercial buildings look better, and American cities tend to be more dominated by such office buildings (due to a lack of condos), I can agree with.

 

[Stupidandshallow]

Is this a joke ? Why does this make them look better; I'd argue Canada has many good if not better looking office buildings then the states.

Now your argument that, on average commercial buildings look better, and American cities tend to be more dominated by such office buildings (due to a lack of condos), I can agree with.

Whaaat... no, just no.

This is another forgettable complex.

 

[taal]

Whaaat... no, just no.

This is another forgettable complex.

That wasn't at all my point; The states are full of such unremarkable office projects ..

 

[ssiguy2]

I don't hate this building but only because it is just so bland that it doesn't really attract any comments. It's the type that you will so easily over look. It's like a Chevy Malibu...............not bad enough or ugly enough to hate but so bland and utilitarian that you totally miss it in a crowd.

 

[urban]

I'm sure the States have their share of crappy projects, but I do think they have a greater amount of nicer ones. What do you consider to be the top 5 in Canada? Scotia, Royal Bank, Bow, TD Centre, Place Ville Marie? Now what do you think are the top American office towers?

Having bigger corporations play a big role in that. Looking at fortune 500, Suncor and RBC are our top 2 companies. RBC Plaza is stunning, though a little short (relatively), And Suncor Energy Centre is OK but there are countless office towers in the US that are miles ahead of it.

 

[Bayer]

I am actually quite dismayed at the lack of an additional food court. Granted, additional restaurants will open in the area, but most workers don't have the time or money for full-service restaurants at lunch time. The food court at Bay-Adelaide is very crowded and noisy, and the next closest one, at Scotia Plaza, is small and frankly below standard these days (and of course, there was that memorable lunch where a mouse somehow dropped from the ceiling directly in front of my meal, ran off and scared more than a few patrons off of their chairs).

 

[Torontovibe]

I thought I read somewhere that this development was coming with restaurants at street level, in the portion closest to Yonge Street?

 

[Bayer]

I thought I read somewhere that this development was coming with restaurants at street level, in the portion closest to Yonge Street?

Possibly, but I doubt fast-service restaurants would be located there. I would expect full service in such a location.

 

[salsa]

That wasn't at all my point; The states are full of such unremarkable office projects ..

And how many of those unremarkable office projects are as huge as Bay Adelaide Centre?

 

[taal]

And how many of those unremarkable office projects are as huge as Bay Adelaide Centre?

Countless !! Go look at the skyline of many American cities, you'll see many of them. Due give Canada some credit, we have some beautiful towers as well.

 

[Mongo]

I'm sure the States have their share of crappy projects, but I do think they have a greater amount of nicer ones. What do you consider to be the top 5 in Canada? Scotia, Royal Bank, Bow, TD Centre, Place Ville Marie? Now what do you think are the top American office towers?

Since the USA has 9 times the population of Canada, I would expect 9 times as many office towers at each level of design excellence. So the 5th-best office tower in Canada should be compared to the 45th-best office tower in the USA, for a truly fair comparison. I suspect that they would be quite close to each other, in terms of design quality.

But yes, there would still be nine times as many really good office towers in the USA as in Canada.

 

[urbandreamer]

More HBC, less glass next time please--yawn

 

[AndreaPalladio]

I am actually quite dismayed at the lack of an additional food court. Granted, additional restaurants will open in the area, but most workers don't have the time or money for full-service restaurants at lunch time. The food court at Bay-Adelaide is very crowded and noisy, and the next closest one, at Scotia Plaza, is small and frankly below standard these days (and of course, there was that memorable lunch where a mouse somehow dropped from the ceiling directly in front of my meal, ran off and scared more than a few patrons off of their chairs).

That's what the path is for! Go up to the Eaton Centre! Over to First Canadian! Down to Commerce Court! All in air conditioned comfort!

 

[steveve]

And how many of those unremarkable office projects are as huge as Bay Adelaide Centre?

Agreed. And the criticisms also can be found with Bay-Adelaide's location, it's a huge site relatively speaking, in Canada's biggest city in the heart of the financial district. So yes, it is disappointing that what we got here are essentially bland designs, and walls of identical glass stretching almost an entire city block.
These are still extremely high-quality office buildings though which should not be overlooked. Far from cheap, it's just the design that is underwhelming and what it contributes to this part of the skyline.
At least we have some very unique office buildings in the works in and outside the CBD. Namely 100 Adelaide and 156 Front. Those are the types of office buildings that any city can be proud of.

 

[Bayer]

That's what the path is for! Go up to the Eaton Centre! Over to First Canadian! Down to Commerce Court! All in air conditioned comfort!

I use the Path extensively, but who has the time to walk all over the financial district for a mere food court meal? This new tower will bring thousands of workers to the area; additional facilities would be welcome. But I will be happy to walk a bit further than usual to have lunch at Canoe in a couple of days!