[cd concept]

If the balconies are going to be painted white its really going to stand out with dark blue glazed glass. Making 5 st Joseph a rich looking building to look at from a distance.

 

[interchange42]

This roof is looking very different than I expected. The renderings didn't show a slope on the roof like this. There was a peak along the front (Yonge Street side) but not the whole roof. Did they change the original design or will it only look like that temporarily, because of the building materials?

Likely changed it when they added more floors

So hopefully you've both seen that the angled roof has always been part of the plan as per my photos of the model reposted by thecharioteer above.

I like the angle tilt of the roof top .It adds a little more height to the building making it look 50 storeys high. Soon there will be another similar building down the street at 75 storeys with an angled roof top to gaze at .

One Bloor East, however, has changed; it will not have an angled roofline.

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[cd concept]

What kind of rooftop will it have?

 

[Torontovibe]

The rendering makes it seem like the roof will be lit up at night. Is that the case or is that just a bit of rendering trickery?

 

[Tewder]

Is it me or do the upper 4 stories and roof look like a bit of a dog's breakfast? I understand the waves resolving themselves in the lighter cladding of the roof but I don't understand why some other sides are clad the same way. It feels somewhat random.

 

[Benito]

 

[Benito]

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

Even without glass, the wave effect of the balconies by day can be already be enjoyed walking up/down Yonge St., I think it's going to be quite dramatic when completed.

 

[interchange42]

From yesterday evening:

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[urbandreamer]

I noticed another sorta cool indie coffee shop has opened on Yonge--hadn't been on the street in several months. A sign of what's to come no doubt.

It's beginning to remind me of c.2003 Robson Street meets the Alberni condo corridor here:

The balcony towers may soar, but nothing beats the charm of Victorian Yonge facades

 

[arvelomcquaig]

I don’t understand what people see in this one. It’s incredibly boring to me so far; other than the podium, it seems like just another sterile glass box with no textural variety whatsoever.

 

[Mongo]

I don’t understand what people see in this one. It’s incredibly boring to me so far; other than the podium, it seems like just another sterile glass box with no textural variety whatsoever.

????

You are of course entitled to your opinion, however much I might disagree with it.

 

[Mike in TO]

I don’t understand what people see in this one. It’s incredibly boring to me so far; other than the podium, it seems like just another sterile glass box with no textural variety whatsoever.

The use of curtain-wall vs window-wall has a much stronger and cohesive aesthetic impact and is also much more expensive as an exterior cladding material. It carries a higher R-value in terms of thermal insulation and is overall a much better use of seamless materials, which is not typically used for residential buildings. The adaptive re-use to the Yonge Street historic buildings rather than a facadomy is also a different development approach and more sympathetic to the history of Yonge Street then a typical residential project. Furthermore the retention of the historic facades along St. Joseph and Nicholas strongly anchor the building and there will be new investment into improving Nicholas itself (which is a charming downtown laneway) including retail units facing onto the laneway.

I rarely make personal comments on individual towers, but this is easily one of the most well executed infill buildings of the "condo boom". There has been tremendous attention to the fine details from an architectural standpoint as well as the site-plan, relationship to the immediate surroundings and material quality. The project cohesively inserts itself into the exiting urban fabric while restoring and enhancing historic elements that had been in a state of long-term deterioration. I’d suggest this is a very refined project that had a very strong team behind it who were dedicated to seeing it well executed.

 

[junctionist]

It's a great infill building. The stripes and wave of balcony slabs give it character, but it's done with tasteful restraint. It could be tacky, but it isn't. Coupled with the heritage restoration, it's a great example of a project that builds on the past without destroying it.

 

[arvelomcquaig]

I appreciate the podium and that it’s comprised of high-quality materials, but, overall, from afar, the tower looks very bland to me; just row after row, floor after floor of repeating glass panels, like almost every other building going up lately.

I certainly am glad it’s being built, but it just doesn’t aesthetically stand out for me at all from afar; the cladding reminds me (so far) more of a dreary office building from the ’80s than an exceptional contemporary condominium.