achender
Active Member
I just noticed this connecting bridge thing today. Not sure how long it's been there.
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- Thread starter AlvinofDiaspar
- Start date
everydayhim
Active Member
Mill St is low key becoming one of the nicest urban fabric streets in the city
egotrippin
Senior Member
I wish the entirety of the east end was built to this level of quality. The Waterfront, Bayfront, West Don Lands; anything built in what constitutes "old town". If anything this is the minimum we should be aspiring to, because at the end of this boom we're going to be left wondering how we squandered such a huge city building opportunity with all the dreck that's been put up in the past decade.
edit to say, I might have been a little harsh. There's plenty to like, especially in WDL where I like the general scale and a number of buildings, but something like this gives us a taste of how much better things can be; that we can get thoughtful, well-scaled and attractive architecture in Toronto. It is possible!
edit to say, I might have been a little harsh. There's plenty to like, especially in WDL where I like the general scale and a number of buildings, but something like this gives us a taste of how much better things can be; that we can get thoughtful, well-scaled and attractive architecture in Toronto. It is possible!
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rdaner
Senior Member
Paving finished along the southern edge of western most building. It looks like there may be two retail spaces or one really big one on Cherry although I have read that there was only one. I emailed the leasing agent to find out when occupancy is but got no response. 
Maybe May?
Maybe May?
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ADRM
Senior Member
UtakataNoAnnex
Senior Member
...while spandrel'ella is taking over the Fashion District core, Denmark is quietly setting up shop in this neck of our urban woods. We should all mover here! <3
rdaner
Senior Member
Your photos put mine to shame!
rdaner
Senior Member
We need a ‘Prix de Copenhagen’ similar to Waterloo’s Prix de Rome to train our architects in their ways. Makes me curious as to how Downsview will turn out!
UtakataNoAnnex
Senior Member
Keep is mind...it's usually not the architect's fault, rather that of the developers. So no matter how much good training they'll receive, it will be for not in an industry that's looking to cut corners most of the time.
...it just seems projects out in this yellow bird district are rather an exception to that. And thank goodness.
FormerTorontonianBackInTO
New Member
I find that outside of a couple of condo projects (ie: by CentreCourt, or the last coupe of waterfront projects by Tridel), the best looking projects are typically hotels (ie: Ace Hotel), though these provide a small sample size, or apartment buildings where at least one of the developers is an apartment builder. These apartment developers (or at least some of the ones doing Class A rentals) appear to build a higher quality building because they'll end up holding it in the long term. I say that because, to me, the two Westbank projects (Duncan and Honest Ed's), this and the other West Don Lands rental (Block 3, 4, 7) being done by Tricon, and the Fitzrovia projects (Waverley, Parker, Elm & Ledbury), are generally being built to a higher standard than the spandrel-heavy condos being inflicted on the skyline......Dream Unlimited, for example, seems to be building to a higher standard on the Tricon projects than they've done for other projects in this same neighborhood or other neighborhoods (Ivy condos comes to mind)
Northern Light
Superstar
I'm not opposed to prizes, but I don't think they do much to shift the general nature of quality in architecture (or much of anything else I might add).
Quality work, in whatever field, is mixture of good training/education; good peer-culture (people tend to level-up or down to the norm); economics (what is incentivized/possible); and the law; what will not be tolerated.
If the province wanted to, it could outlaw or limit the use of spandrel glass tomorrow.
It chooses not to do so.
The City can also impose some limits, but must tie them to building envelope performance, rather than to aesthetics (one must be careful to see what one ends up with if one takes away choice 'x'.)
Beyond thoughtful requirements/laws, we would do well to educate both the profession of architecture but also developers on what's possible even on a tight budget. That while more money might be spent, on construction, ideally, that one can often execute better than what we see even on a comparable budget.
As @formerTorontonian points out above, rental properties and commercial properties tend to fare better on architecture/build quality as they are typically a source of on-going revenue for the developer/client. So shifting the industry by a variety of means, to building more purpose-built rental is a win-win.
But another thing is addressing the problems of bait-and-switch architecture after a building has actually sold through most/all units. Amending the law to make clear that you must build what you 'sell'; and if you cannot, the sale is void. If you have collected funds under false pretenses you may be held liable for any resulting financial damages accrued by would-be owners/residents.
We could also tackle this the other way around by simply outlawing pre-construction sales. Of course this would up-end the way the industry does business and how construction is financed, but I'm fine w/that. Bait and switch aside, I think the idea
that builders get to hold on to deposits for years (sometimes 5+ years) before a unit is delivered is just bizarre.
Finally, to create a culture of excellence in the field in general, the public (government) should lead by example. That means ditching lowest-bidder wins; that means more design competitions, that means a City architect; and as @AlexBozikovic has regularly noted, that means paying higher architecture fees for public projects.
When excellence is more common, a positive feedback loop happens. Consumer/public expectations rise; so to the expectations of builders and architects as well.
AlexBozikovic
Active Member
rdaner
Senior Member
Paving and planters going in between the two westernmost buildings. Photos
taken 11 April.
jxmyth_
Senior Member
Went back to the original renderings and didn't see any bridge in the plans. The one in the pic here has the unique appearance of both a generic/temporary construction asset AND something that fits in with the brick work. Permanent or temporary?
