ProjectEnd said:
You can 'baffle' yourself all you like, Soho, Festival Tower, 55 Mercer, King Blue and Metro Hall all far exceed this pile.
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I actually agree with @70Challenger as it relates to that photo.
The building isn't living up to the renders, and there are other problems as well, but it might be a nice addition to the skyline when viewed from afar.
 
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Fezbatik said:
Didn’t you just say yourself you haven’t seen it up close? How is it clear it’s a jumbled mess? It looks like a construction project underway, which are always messy…
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You see there's this thing called 'photographs'. The evidence is all in here for anyone to see, unless your suggesting that the dozens of close up pictures of it in this thread have all been photoshopped? Sure the building is still under construction but they're not going to suddenly redo the recladding that they've completed.
 
Lyphe said:
I actually agree with @70Challenger as it relates to that photo.
The building isn't living up to the renders, and there are other problems as well, but it might be a nice addition to the skyline when viewed from afar.
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Without even realizing it, maybe this is how I feel about the building too. All I know is the more darker buildings that go up in the city, the more I like it.
 
C-mac said:
Without even realizing it, maybe this is how I feel about the building too. All I know is the more darker buildings that go up in the city, the more I like it.
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I will say that from afar, the black is a nice contrast to the monotonous bluey-grey of the Entertainment District cluster. This could've been quite striking had the materials been executed (far) better, definitely a lost opportunity.
 
Taken today:

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Once upon a time when I thought this building was going to be high quality, I thought the sets of walls facing inwards towards eachother were going to be curtain wall. Ohh how wrong was I, instead we get messy window wall and grey? Spandrel for some unbeknownst reason.

As for the hate for this building. Yes it might be better than a lot of its immediate surroundings but that's a very very low bar. There's also plenty of buildings nearby that are better and many new buildings going up that will be way better.

The other part is expectations, this was promised to be a showstopper, so getting such a low quality final product understandably has generated disappointment and dislike. The original ideas (which remain good) are masking - to some extent - just how bad this is, but most on UT know this and are not fooled. Hence why it can look ok from a distance (which it does mostly) and still be a disaster.
 
Bjays92 said:
Once upon a time when I thought this building was going to be high quality, I thought the sets of walls facing inwards towards eachother were going to be curtain wall. Ohh how wrong was I, instead we get messy window wall and grey? Spandrel for some unbeknownst reason.

As for the hate for this building. Yes it might be better than a lot of its immediate surroundings but that's a very very low bar. There's also plenty of buildings nearby that are better and many new buildings going up that will be way better.

The other part is expectations, this was promised to be a showstopper, so getting such a low quality final product understandably has generated disappointment and dislike. The original ideas (which remain good) are masking - to some extent - just how bad this is, but most on UT know this and are not fooled. Hence why it can look ok from a distance (which it does mostly) and still be a disaster.
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Fortunately, this building will mostly be seen from a distance, as it's located mid-block on a narrow side street (Mercer) and almost completely surrounded by buildings of similar heights. Only residents or passersby who venture down Mercer will see it up-close, and even then they'll have to crane their necks. Hopefully Nobu will be open only at night, when the sight of bargain spandrels is somewhat muted and not so unappetizing.
 
This building would be bad if we all knew we were getting this from the get go.

...as for the "hate for this building", I would ask that if we're getting another 19 Duncan in quality with this, would we even be getting this "hate" at all?
 
Rascacielo said:
Fortunately, this building will mostly be seen from a distance, as it's located mid-block on a narrow side street (Mercer) and almost completely surrounded by buildings of similar heights. Only residents or passersby who venture down Mercer will see it up-close, and even then they'll have to crane their necks. Hopefully Nobu will be open only at night, when the sight of bargain spandrels is somewhat muted and not so unappetizing.
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Though I appreciate this sentiment, that we urban design aficionados are forced to resort to sour-grapes defense mechanisms for aesthetically unsatisfactory builds such as "it'll be hidden from view in time" or "it'll disappear into the dark night sky" speaks volumes about how pathetic the state of this city's self-respect remains. A truly mature and confident civic culture would build self-assuredly competent urban architecture and public realms with "nothing to hide".
 
telefann said:
Though I appreciate this sentiment, that we urban design aficionados are forced to resort to sour-grapes defense mechanisms for aesthetically unsatisfactory builds such as "it'll be hidden from view in time" or "it'll disappear into the dark night sky" speaks volumes about how pathetic the state of this city's self-respect remains. A truly mature and confident civic culture would build self-assuredly competent urban architecture and public realms with "nothing to hide".
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Yes, but as long as people are buying these units, and in the absence of legislation prohibiting developers from using cheaper products than advertised, developers will continue to maximize profit by turning out buildings like this or Social. You’re right about Toronto lacking self-respect: for the most part, everything here is about functionality, not aesthetic, though there are hopeful signs that it’s changing. That applies to public realms (anything non-functional is seen as a waste of tax payers’ money) and private developments (buyers completely disregarding what the building will look like, as long as it’s liveable). Sad and frustrating, but true. I’ve heard so many visitors saying our city is ugly, and can’t disagree with them. If living in a pretty city was my #1 priority, I would’ve moved a long time ago.
 
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