[toto]

I was thinking, by the number of project, the current building boom in Toronto isn't much different than what was happening in NYC 90 years ago. NYC boom during the teens, 1920's and early 1930's, steadily produced the high-rise density that became iconic.

The big difference?

Population. NYC 1920 - 5,620,048 Toronto 2010 - 2,615,000


The street grid. NYC's allowed for building to be built at various angles to one another. Toronto's grid encourages parallel and perpendicular growth.

The physical environment. NYC is confined to an island. Toronto has few barriers to outward expansion.

Style of architecture. Art deco/ modern vs. what every style our glass box is considered?

My point? The current boom in Toronto is beginning to establish a core density where 50 storey buildings, may add to it, but are lost in it as well. 20 years into its boom, progressive/ egotistical NYC developers, built the Empire State and Chrysler buildings. Is Toronto going to see a couple of icons built in the next few years?

 

[Mongo]

This is a diagram I put together in October of last year. It shows the number of 200m+ buildings by year for New York, Chicago and Toronto. Buildings announced after October 2011, or which obtained height increases to over 200m after that date, would not be on the diagram.

As you can see, the massive jump in 200m+ buildings that occurred in New York during the late 1920s to early 1930s is very similar to the post-2010 jump in Toronto. In both cases I believe that the city reached a critical mass of population and financial activity where tall building construction exploded.

 

[kkgg7]

^^ nice chart.
It looks like Toronto lags NYC by about 50 years and on a smaller scale. I do hope this trend will continue and those who are scared of height will stop whining.

As to iconic buildings, it is unfortunate we have non yet on par with Empire State, Chrysler, Willis Tower etc that are internationally known. But Toronto seems to have a "we don't need a supertall iconic building" mentality, I doubt it will happen any time soon. Let's wait for our first real 300m building first and then something grander might happen. (When I talk about buildings, I mean towers where people either live or work, not TV towers with few people inside).

 

[Mongo]

Well, if the Synergy project happens, what I have read about it makes it seem that it could potentially be our Empire State Building:

http://exclusivetorontolistings.com...s-synergy-condos-toronto-synergy/building/192

Hearing that Synergy Condos is going to be 100+ storeys, with an unknown developer to Toronto from the UAE.

The developer being from the UAE would be consistent with the prominent gold colour and palm tree-like flourish in the logo.

 

[ladyscraper]

As to iconic buildings, it is unfortunate we have non yet on par with Empire State, Chrysler, Willis Tower etc that are internationally known. But Toronto seems to have a "we don't need a supertall iconic building" mentality, I doubt it will happen any time soon

I know that the CN Tower isn't technically a building but it's extremely tall, very iconic and anchors the Toronto skyline just like the Empire State Building does in Midtown Manhattan.

 

[Lenser]

Anyone who doesn't think the CN tower isn't iconic ought to rethink that one.. it might not be your cup of tea but it's world-famous and is synonymous with Toronto. It's about as distinctive as it gets. I don't buy it that Toronto doesn't like iconic, distinctive architecture... proclaiming otherwise simply feeds into a negative mindset. Give it time. Not everyone in the world thinks Toronto's first priority is a mind-blowing supertall... we'll get taller buildings yet.

 

[toto]

I wasn't thinking taller, just more distictive. Recent examples - CCTV in Beijing, Swiss Reinsurance, London Bridge Tower, 8 Spruce St. Even Marina City in Chicago and Transamerica Pyramid in SF are iconic in a way.

I agree the CN Tower is iconic. New City Hall is as well. I consider the original TDC buildings and block as icons. But, unless you're a architecture buff, little else is visibly unique.

 

[Hipster Duck]

^I kind of agree.

Toronto has great, iconic architecture: City Hall, OCAD, AGO, ROM, BCE galleria, etc.
Toronto has a few great skyscrapers: TD Centre, CCW, CCN, Scotia (sort of),
Toronto has an iconic telecommunications tower.

But, Toronto doesn't have any great, iconic skyscrapers.

TD Centre, great as it is, is not iconic. Its architectural greatness is to be observed at street level as an ensemble of towers + pavillion designs. Design-wise, it's a facsimile to older, if not better, Miesian towers.

The CN tower is iconic, but it's not a skyscraper nor is it great architecture. It is iconic in the way that the Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV tower is an icon; however the tower in Shanghai tends toward the tacky, while the CN tower tends toward the utilitarian/mundane.

This boom has lasted 8 years and we have built hundreds of new towers - probably more than most North American major cities put together. Despite this, we have consistently failed to build a highrise building that would sear this building boom into the consciousness of the global architectural community; something that we could recognize generations from now as a symbol of the highrise boom of our time, much like how the ESB or Chrysler tower symbolize New York in the 20s/30s or Gensler's Shanghai tower or KPF's WFC will stand as symbols of the Great Chinese boom.

Don't get me wrong: we have built stunning, internationally-recognized architecture in the past 15 years, but all of these buildings were institutional low-rises. If a famous architectural historian ever writes a book about the greatest skyscrapers ca. 2000-2015, not one will be from Toronto.

 

[Lenser]

Can't say I disagree, Hipster. Well said.

 

[kkgg7]

If a famous architectural historian ever writes a book about the greatest skyscrapers ca. 2000-2015, not one will be from Toronto.

exactly. We can argue that we have great buildings to make ourselves feel better all day, but in the end, nobody outside Canada would know any iconic Canadian skyscraper, or even recognize Toronto's skyline if the CN tower is not in it.

 

[adma]

I wasn't think taller, just more distictive. Recent examples - CCTV in Beijing, Swiss Reinsurance, London Bridge Tower, 8 Spruce St. Even Marina City in Chicago and Transamerica Pyramid in SF are iconic in a way.

I really don't like feeding this kind of icon-envy discussion, but...don't forget Marilyn in Mississauga...

 

[old boy]

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I was thinking, by the number of project, the current building boom in Toronto isn't much different than what was happening in NYC 90 years ago. NYC boom during the teens, 1920's and early 1930's, steadily produced the high-rise density that became iconic.

The big difference?

Population. NYC 1920 - 5,620,048 Toronto 2010 - 2,615,000


The street grid. NYC's allowed for building to be built at various angles to one another. Toronto's grid encourages parallel and perpendicular growth.

The physical environment. NYC is confined to an island. Toronto has few barriers to outward expansion.

Style of architecture. Art deco/ modern vs. what every style our glass box is considered?

My point? The current boom in Toronto is beginning to establish a core density where 50 storey buildings, may add to it, but are lost in it as well. 20 years into its boom, progressive/ egotistical NYC developers, built the Empire State and Chrysler buildings. Is Toronto going to see a couple of icons built in the next few years?

Toronto is the center of a region of several million actually. However, New York throughout the last hundred years has been the prime focus that no city in North America can match . Nevertheless, Toronto has relationships to the great metropolis , and that discussion is revealing and informative. There is only one New York, and some facsimilies at this point, Toronto being a reasonable one.

 

[gabe]

If a famous architectural historian ever writes a book about the greatest skyscrapers ca. 2000-2015, not one will be from Toronto.

I agree. Chicago hasn't had the building boom like Toronto but they do have a few new buildings that have attracted a lot of acclaim from around the world. Trump Chicago is one of them. its ranked right up there with the Sears Tower and John Hancock. "Aqua" is another new skyscraper in Chicago that has gotten a lot of praise.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

exactly. We can argue that we have great buildings to make ourselves feel better all day, but in the end, nobody outside Canada would know any iconic Canadian skyscraper, or even recognize Toronto's skyline if the CN tower is not in it.

To be fair most skylines are not well recognized. As an experiment I showed some coworkers some pictures of the New York and Beijing skyline and most were not able to recognize it. In fact the ones who did manage to recognize the New York skyline recognized it only because the Empire State Building or the statue of liberty was in it.

 

[TrickyRicky]

I'm not a big highrise fan but I would tend to agree with Hipster. I just don't think that iconic is in our DNA. We also aren't a large imperial centre. Iconic is the realm of either global imperial powers or massive nations with huge domestic populations. The question of who would occupy and benefit from iconic architecture is more important than the iconic architecture itself.