It's been a rough couple of years for mid-century mid-rise buildings in the area. They're a really underappreciated bunch, often forgotten when it comes to preservation. The butchering of 696 Yonge (Scientology building) is about to begin. I don't even want to imagine how hideous that "renovation" is going to look.
 
AlbertC said:
It's been a rough couple of years for mid-century mid-rise buildings in the area. They're a really underappreciated bunch, often forgotten when it comes to preservation. The butchering of 696 Yonge (Scientology building) is about to begin.
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I dont know about that...considering the building boom we've been in, few of significant heritage have been mangled or lost
 
Well, on a relative architectural scale of things, if I had to choose among 45 Charles, Scientology and this, this one would get the short straw--it really is more on the tepid spec-dreary hackwork end of the 60s (late 50s?) Modern ledger. Sort of like, the Bloor Street Neighbourhood to 45 Charles' Casa I.

Thus if this demolition disproportionately "registers", it's because the existing building's so freaking huge and solid, it's hard to miss (which might, in its turn, fuel the embodied-energy "anti-demolition" as opposed to the "pro-heritage" argument).

Oh, the waffle-pattern concrete ceilings remind me of the exposed version thereof at the (late great) Parkin Aeroquay at Pearson.
 
Casa 1 was great but do we really need 3 towers that look the same. At least I'm happy Cresford is not planning BSN II or III :)
 
urbandreamer said:
I broke the news on twitter last night: Casa 3 coming soon to Charles East?! (Post Office site perhaps.) :)
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casa is a liveable primary residence building with larger floorplans;
casa II will become a transient residence with all the 400-500 sq ft 1-bedroom units and i suspect casa 3 would be the same.


on a side note, how comfortable/warm were all these glass condos the past week during our artic wind-chill?
i was visiting someone couple of days ago and even though the heat was on full blast, being anywhere within 5 feet of the windows was chilly.

i have to agree with those that have mentioned aluminum-framed glass enveloped buildings are not appropriate for our climates, unless the developers start using higher quality window systems with better thermal performance.

i live in a SFH that had double-pane vinyl encased windows installed in the mid-1990s and they are working alot better compared to the above, mostly i'm sure due to the amount of area that are windows compared to the glass condos - even though i do have 5 ft x 8 ft window in the LR and door in the DR.
 
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^ One of the reasons why spandrel is becoming more common - many on UT complain insistently about spandrel (I agree it can look terrible in some applications). Some developers are decreasing the amount of window space in the new generation of glass towers and using more solid walls to increase insulation and energy performance in terms of heat loss (there is only so much that triple glazed argon gas insulated windows can do) - result is that some of the newer towers going up are utilizing a lot more spandrel and we'll likely see an increase in other solid materials in the years ahead... possibly a return to pre-cast that was more common in the early 2000s.... challenge is that consumers generally demand walls of glass - so it is a bit of a chicken and the egg scenario in terms of industry or consumers taking the lead in what should be constructed.
 
I found this extraordinary new building material on the net. It might have some applications in Toronto.

Thick as a...

brick.jpg
 

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Mike in TO said:
^ One of the reasons why spandrel is becoming more common - many on UT complain insistently about spandrel (I agree it can look terrible in some applications). Some developers are decreasing the amount of window space in the new generation of glass towers and using more solid walls to increase insulation and energy performance in terms of heat loss (there is only so much that triple glazed argon gas insulated windows can do) - result is that some of the newer towers going up are utilizing a lot more spandrel and we'll likely see an increase in other solid materials in the years ahead... possibly a return to pre-cast that was more common in the early 2000s.... challenge is that consumers generally demand walls of glass - so it is a bit of a chicken and the egg scenario in terms of industry or consumers taking the lead in what should be constructed.
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I think the primary problem (as indicated in 3D's post above) is that it shouldn't just be glass or spandrel. There are countless new and innovative products out there which, when combined with cladding technologies which are hundreds of years old, make the singular choice between glass or spandrel seem that much more false.
 
Mike in TO said:
^ One of the reasons why spandrel is becoming more common - many on UT complain insistently about spandrel (I agree it can look terrible in some applications). Some developers are decreasing the amount of window space in the new generation of glass towers and using more solid walls to increase insulation and energy performance in terms of heat loss (there is only so much that triple glazed argon gas insulated windows can do) - result is that some of the newer towers going up are utilizing a lot more spandrel and we'll likely see an increase in other solid materials in the years ahead... possibly a return to pre-cast that was more common in the early 2000s.... challenge is that consumers generally demand walls of glass - so it is a bit of a chicken and the egg scenario in terms of industry or consumers taking the lead in what should be constructed.
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can you tell me which projects in Toronto have used triple glazing/panes?
AFAIK/seen, most newer buildings have used double glazed/paned systems.

here's what i typically see in the features and finishes of projects:
•Double glazed, low E, thermal windows

i suspect if developers did use triple glazed or better quality higher R-valued double glazed systems, it would provide better thermal performance but they don't have to content with the long term maintenance of the building/units.

IMO, one of the more attractive buildings (and well laid out floorplans) from this past decade of construction have been the Radio City towers and they aren't all glass. it's a good ratio of pre-cast and glass/aluminum window walls.
don't know how well the insulating properties are as i heard the common maintenance fees are quite high and they don't include in-suite utilities.
 
Uncle Teddy said:
Casa 1 was great but do we really need 3 towers that look the same. At least I'm happy Cresford is not planning BSN II or III :)
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With you on that one... although each version seems to be a somewhat tweaked (and slightly better) version of the last (imo), so maybe they'll go all out the third time around! but I'm still hoping for a different design than the other two. 3 is definitely pushing it.
Casa III = dafuq?
 
I read somewhere recently that performance on insulating buildings has to improve dramatically in Toronto reaching a much better standard by 2015. As for floor to ceiling windows some units are really expensive to heat or cool in our extreme seasons but it does vary by building, presumably some use better materials than others. Also, if you look up on a sunny Saturday or Sunday at least half of the windows have their blinds or curtains drawn in buildings that have floor to ceiling windows.
 
So glad to see a discussion on this. :) Put me in the camp that feels that more creative solutions (a la Picasso condos by Teeple) are required. It's not enough for us to just slap spandrel all over designs that would otherwise be fully glazed with vision glass.

I'd also like to see more louvres and "outdoor blinds" like on the opera house, as well as insulated balcony slabs.
 
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