[stjames2queenwest]

much wow

 

[DarkSideDenizen]

..Much more reflective than I considered they'd be. Nice.

 

[Irishmonk]

Spectacular! Well on it's way to becoming, imo, Toronto's most beautiful tall building.

 

[Miscreant]

Yeah, the balconies are really opening this thing up. They look amazing.

 

[Benito]

Sunrise today.

 

[UrbanAffair]

Wow, she's a real beauty. I have trouble understanding how some conclude that aA builds more attractive buildings. Don't get me wrong, I think they do a better job than the vast majority of local architects, but to me HP stands out as using a quality of materials that is similar, and yet produces much more interesting design consistently. I do like ICE a lot, but find most aA towers to be underwhelming in comparison. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it would be foolish of me to discredit others opinions simply because they don't line up with mine. Perhaps we should be happy both are local firms.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Wow, she's a real beauty. I have trouble understanding how some conclude that aA builds more attractive buildings. Don't get me wrong, I think they do a better job than the vast majority of local architects, but to me HP stands out as using a quality of materials that is similar, and yet produces much more interesting design consistently. I do like ICE a lot, but find most aA towers to be underwhelming in comparison. Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it would be foolish of me to discredit others opinions simply because they don't line up with mine. Perhaps we should be happy both are local firms.

I don't know if it is entirely fair, considering not the entire HP residential output is of this quality - see Pinnacle, Vu, etc. Personally I wouldn't necessarily rank the work of the two firms that way.

AoD

 

[Bogtrotter]

The curved balconies are fantastic- this one is looking really sharp. I was thinking they may botch the mechanical but even that looks good. Bloor/Yonge really needed a quality project like this.

 

[UrbanAffair]

I don't know if it is entirely fair, considering not the entire HP residential output is of this quality - see Pinnacle, Vu, etc. Personally I wouldn't necessarily rank the work of the two firms that way.
AoD

True, although I think Murano was a bit of a dud (for me) also. Maybe I should have said more recently HP has produced a lot of quality builds that I find more interesting than what aA is producing and of equally or superior quality materials. I should also have prefaced that I don't work in design or architecture so I don't know if this is in fact true, it's just my impression. (I work in prop valuation.) I do think 1 Bloor and 7 St. Thomas are unmatched in quality these days.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

True, although I think Murano was a bit of a dud (for me) also. Maybe I should have said more recently HP has produced a lot of quality builds that I find more interesting than what aA is producing and of equally or superior quality materials. I should also have prefaced that I don't work in design or architecture so I don't know if this is in fact true, it's just my impression. (I work in prop valuation.) I do think 1 Bloor and 7 St. Thomas are unmatched in quality these days.

I could be wrong, but the material quality is probably in line with the willingness of the client to pony up - more than the ability of the firms in question to deliver - recall aA and Four Seasons - the glazing was rumoured to be of an unheard of quality (and it still compares well to the current crop - particularly in the degree of "waviness" in the glazing). aA has sort of becoming a safe go to firm now - which was quite different from the early 2000s at the beginning of the boom.

AoD

 

[steveve]

It's incredible how spot-on the renders were with those balconies. Some of the close-up shots posted above almost look computer generated.

Today:

 

[Froggy]

Today:

 

[TheKingEast]

Don't blame HP for developers who are notorious for using cheap materials. Plaza, Aspen Ridge, a pinnacle all tend to use the same blech materials in virtually all of their projects.

These firms are at the mercy at the developer.

 

[Benito]

From today.

 

[wmedia]

Just visible in the distance...