Today. West Tower reaches 38th floor (I think)
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I think the visual effect of the balcony frit pattern could actually work when it's completed, under the right lighting. It takes a bit of meditation on it before it pops, but sometimes it starts to work.

I think the unfortunate side of this is that it reveals that Daniels was most likely unwilling to even pay for articulation of the balconies to add some visual interest, let alone to invest in a visually acceptable window wall product to clad the building in.

Of course, Daniels would likely assert that they are doing a ton of investment into public realm and a decent podium design (that's subjective) as though that somehow earns them the right to build two 50-storey pieces of crap overhead. But as people who read my posts already know, I find most of the things developers say about architecture to be swindling.
 
I think the visual effect of the balcony frit pattern could actually work when it's completed, under the right lighting. It takes a bit of meditation on it before it pops, but sometimes it starts to work.

I think the unfortunate side of this is that it reveals that Daniels was most likely unwilling to even pay for articulation of the balconies to add some visual interest, let alone to invest in a visually acceptable window wall product to clad the building in.

Of course, Daniels would likely assert that they are doing a ton of investment into public realm and a decent podium design (that's subjective) as though that somehow earns them the right to build two 50-storey pieces of crap overhead. But as people who read my posts already know, I find most of the things developers say about architecture to be swindling.
Ok infill projects, but hey, it's not infill !
 
This is just about the worst advertisement for Daniels. Even Wallman was smart enough to put their offices in one of their best buildings (Tableau). Daniels on the other hand, preferring to save their best projects for places like Erin Mills, decides to include their head office in a project whose residential towers could very well be one of the worst (if not THE worst) waterfront builds of this cycle.

It's visibility screams to all Torontonians, all visitors, all potential clients, "We are completely out of ideas, but if you have one, we will value engineer the life out of it so that it resembles a flimsy cardboard box!"

All the waterfront buildings are like calling cards. Safdie/Great Gulf"s Monde says, "We build quality." Pinnacle hiring HP on One Younge indicates they are about to do the same. Daniels is well on it's way towards accomplishing the opposite. I am open to the possibility that the circular frit pattern may redeem the design somewhat under certain lighting conditions, but I am equally open to the possibility that standing beside Monde and One Younge it will come off as a cheap, well worn slight of hand that fools nobody.
 
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