Well I'm not conflating some glass block with the actual project. Is there any consensus that BIG's execution is weak, beyond your claim?
 
Hopefully that's just a mock up that they've roundly rejected. It's nowhere near as nice as what's depicted in the rendering. It's just not good enough.
 
WeirdFishes said:
You make zero sense. But you did showcase how much of a troll you are. Please, tell us this accordant history?
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I'm a troll because you disagree with my opinion? I work in the industry and people talk about BIG all the time; do some of your own research and draw your own conclusions. I won't change my opinion because it for some reason offends you.

buildup said:
Gosh you’re insufferable, I’d like to inspect some of your work. To see whether it’s ”good enough”
Click to expand...

Are you familiar with construction detailing? Because it honestly wouldn't be hard to detail something better than that glass-block and sliding door mockup from the last page.
 
.dwg said:
I'm a troll because you disagree with my opinion? I work in the industry and people talk about BIG all the time; do some of your own research and draw your own conclusions. I won't change my opinion because it for some reason offends you.



Are you familiar with construction detailing? Because it honestly wouldn't be hard to detail something better than that glass-block and sliding door mockup from the last page.
Click to expand...
I love how you STILL can't give anyone any examples of this "this accordant history". I'm not offended, I just don't appreciate false claims.
 
I have a feeling tat the finished product will look better than the mock-up. I do wish they made one as close to the finished product as possible, though. I can’t imagine the end result having those generic, suburban sliding doors.
 
I believe I've said this before. This when finished will become a popular site for photo ops for tourists and locals alike. It will be one of the most interesting and controversial architectural projects n Toronto.
 
200644


Some of the demolition permits are approved too. Seems like this will be starting sooner than later!
 
LUVIT! said:
I believe I've said this before. This when finished will become a popular site for photo ops for tourists and locals alike. It will be one of the most interesting and controversial architectural projects n Toronto.
Click to expand...
Form is interesting no doubt, I just don't see the materials aging well. My fear is that even 10 years from completion the thing will look horribly dated.
 
For anyone bashing this mockup based on the pictures I suggest you go and see it in person on a bright sunny day. While I am not going to say "pictures don't do it justice", I am going to claim there is a lot of interesting nuance to the materials.

For one, yes these are just the typical glass blocks you'd see in an old 80's(?) washroom as privacy glass, except the glass thickness is very uniform so it does not create any optical aberrations.
Second, there is an opaque glazing baked onto the back of the glass blocks. From the outside it is a perfectly transparent block with an opaque pearleschent/metallic backing. The sheen of this backing is very pleasant, imho.
Third, between the glass blocks and the metallic backing, there is a lot of light play. Just go back and look at the pictures. The main wall looks 100% opaque, yet the balcony railings appear almost transparent/frosted, depending on the angle. Yet they are made with the exact same materials. From certain angles the wall actually looks like it's emitting a warm glow on a sunny day.
Lastly, due to the thickness of the glass and the play of light, there is certainly a noticeable depth to the entire facade. This is only accentuated by the grid-like frame of the thick mortar surrounding the blocks. This mortar thickness makes perfect sense to me.

I am actually looking forward to this project even more now that I've seen the glass block construction in person. I'm not sure what other people were expecting from a "glass block" finish, but this is exactly what I thought it would be (minus the nice pearlescent backing). This certainly beats the precast concrete finish BIG proposed originally. Speaking of concrete and weathering, imagine what precast would look like a couple of decades from now (Habitat 67 anyone?). Glass will look just fine with the exception of the mortar lines, perhaps.

Overall, this project is promising to be the most unique building in the city not only from the architectural expression, but also from the perspective of the cladding materials chosen. BIG thumbs up from me ?
 
Too add to that, it's a single piece out of context. It's very easy to judge a facade as a single piece but this build is about the entirety of the structure. It's also a very polarizing choice for a facade, so, like all opinions, there are two sides. Neither are "correct". This has the chance to be a building that's loved and loathed like the Sharp Centre for Design or many of Gehry's whacky builds out in the world. In both cases, it's going to be fun to watch it grow!
 
Full Metal Junkie said:
For anyone bashing this mockup based on the pictures I suggest you go and see it in person on a bright sunny day. While I am not going to say "pictures don't do it justice", I am going to claim there is a lot of interesting nuance to the materials.

For one, yes these are just the typical glass blocks you'd see in an old 80's(?) washroom as privacy glass, except the glass thickness is very uniform so it does not create any optical aberrations.
Second, there is an opaque glazing baked onto the back of the glass blocks. From the outside it is a perfectly transparent block with an opaque pearleschent/metallic backing. The sheen of this backing is very pleasant, imho.
Third, between the glass blocks and the metallic backing, there is a lot of light play. Just go back and look at the pictures. The main wall looks 100% opaque, yet the balcony railings appear almost transparent/frosted, depending on the angle. Yet they are made with the exact same materials. From certain angles the wall actually looks like it's emitting a warm glow on a sunny day.
Lastly, due to the thickness of the glass and the play of light, there is certainly a noticeable depth to the entire facade. This is only accentuated by the grid-like frame of the thick mortar surrounding the blocks. This mortar thickness makes perfect sense to me.

I am actually looking forward to this project even more now that I've seen the glass block construction in person. I'm not sure what other people were expecting from a "glass block" finish, but this is exactly what I thought it would be (minus the nice pearlescent backing). This certainly beats the precast concrete finish BIG proposed originally. Speaking of concrete and weathering, imagine what precast would look like a couple of decades from now (Habitat 67 anyone?). Glass will look just fine with the exception of the mortar lines, perhaps.

Overall, this project is promising to be the most unique building in the city not only from the architectural expression, but also from the perspective of the cladding materials chosen. BIG thumbs up from me ?
Click to expand...
Contra said:
Too add to that, it's a single piece out of context. It's very easy to judge a facade as a single piece but this build is about the entirety of the structure. It's also a very polarizing choice for a facade, so, like all opinions, there are two sides. Neither are "correct". This has the chance to be a building that's loved and loathed like the Sharp Centre for Design or many of Gehry's whacky builds out in the world. In both cases, it's going to be fun to watch it grow!
Click to expand...

I really couldn’t care less about the potential ugliness of the glass bricks. This building will be a tremendous architectural asset for Toronto regardless. I’ll take this over the best of the generic glass condos we’ve been building for the past decade.

Anyways I think because of the lack of height in this project, we have a tendency to underestimate the impact this building will have in Toronto and the perceptions of the city. But to put it bluntly, the building is extremely Instagrammable (yes, commence eye rolling), and will likely be one of the top 5 most photographed spots in the city. It’s really going to help reduce the perceptions of sterility in the downtown core, especially with Mirvish + Gehry just down the street. And hopefully it’ll inspire more creativity in future projects.
 
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