zang said:
Wasn't the original abomination the Swarovski tourist-magnet?
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This was the Swarovski tree - I don't remember what predated it.

450px-Eaton_Centre_Christmas_Tree.JPG

(wikipedia commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eaton_Centre_Christmas_Tree.JPG)

Then they got rid of it and gave us this "thing":

eaton_centre_tree_2.jpg

(from the Star)

And the now the duncecap:

3hcatba1quy31.jpg

(via Reddit)

AoD
 
Towered said:
(particularly to make up for all the previous greenery that was sadly removed in one of their more dunderheaded moves).... These CF clowns need to do a lot better. Hire a professional interior decorator fer chrissakes.
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Indeed, I will never understand why they did this. (Maybe to save some precious pennies?) I think CF has proven themself over the last decade or two to be utterly incompetant. Ziedler's recent passing has also reminded me of just how badly they disrespected his design by basically taking a giant eraser to all the little nuances that gave the EC whatever distinction.it had. (And god knows what they would've done to "refresh" the TD Centre if not for Mies' ironclad mandates effectively futureproofing the complex.)
 
Yikes, how many ways can Cadillac Fairview destroy this mall. It's like death by 1000 cuts.

I dont trust this firm with a 10 foot pole, every single one of their renovations have been dull and dreadful. I dont think this will be any exception.
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
It looks broadly speaking fine (and the improved energy efficiency could only be welcomed) - the area around the elevator feels a little clumsy and will take some getting used to. I do wish they keep the notion of having some hanging luminaries though.

AoD
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I believe the birds are staying - just being restored.
CF must hate plants, while the removal of the trees from the top floor at the Eaton Centre is bad, the destruction of the "Gardens" that made up Sherway Gardens is 10x worse IMO.
 
pw20 said:
I believe the birds are staying - just being restored.
CF must hate plants, while the removal of the trees from the top floor at the Eaton Centre is bad, the destruction of the "Gardens" that made up Sherway Gardens is 10x worse IMO.
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Oh I meant the lights - not the Michael Snow pieces.
As to the removal of the trees - that's the final straw. The original Eaton Centre has a lot more greenery than just that. See: https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threa...-cadillac-fairview-zeidler.20351/post-1515006

Also:

https://www.reddit.com/r/toronto/comments/cmoted


A close up of the changes to the glazing - via the same CNW Press release:

TEC_Galleria_Image2_2.jpg

(CNW Group/CF/Zeidler)

Not going to be nearly as "clean" as depicted unless they managed to find a way to suspend the geese with invisible wires; but you'd have a consolidation of the panes and removal of the different shades of glazing.

AoD
 
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APTA-2048 said:
I always hated the trend of malls removing plants and fountains. Particularly at Scarborough Town Centre and Markville Mall.
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Even the best malls were always crap on the outside.

Their potential was in giving you a car-free main street in the interior that they could augment with features from the best public squares (fountains/water features/art/trees/flowers etc. All of which could have 4 seasons of life/operation due to being indoors.

The best malls, like the best main streets were also a bit unique; similar to what you knew, but not the quite the same as anywhere else.

The sterility and sameness of the 2 current mall-owning behemoths CF and Oxford is incredibly unfortunate.

There has been some progress over the years, to be fair; some move to better food courts (away from fixed plastic seating to warmer, more pleasant fixtures that are flexible/movable)........
as well as to a certain amount of curation (mixing in variety and non-chain retail)

But those modest gains don't really offset the losses; and neither addresses the fundamental flaws of retail that turns its back on the outside world, most typically surrounded by a seas of parking.

Again, this bit we are beginning to see a fair few plans to change.........and yet, most centre around leaving the existing impermeable blob at the centre in tact.

Sigh.
 
officedweller said:
Agreed.
Isn't the grid of frosted and blueish panes part of the original design?
They're also removing the fine grain of the mullions with panes 3 times the size.

Will the HVAC be able to cope with the increase in clear glass?
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Yes - the above pic is from 1977 just about when Phase 1 of Eaton Centre opened- and it wouldn't surprise me if they new panels being more efficient at rejecting heat than the glazing from the 70s.

officedweller said:
So if they removed the trees, did they remove the tree wells, or do they still poke down into the ceiling below?
(as shown here)
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They are still there.

AoD
 
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