Blue or green are even a rarity in this city when most new development are going for grey. Unless you are speaking of tint of glass, which almost begs to be a different criteria, IMO.
 
Amare said:
By "unique" materials in this case, they could start by targeting colours. For example, a tax incentive/credit for not having developments that are 100% clad in grey, or blue, or green. If need be, designate some kind of minimum percentage necessary in order to receive the credit.

The scope could be expanded to include any other kind of language that can make more developers comprehend we need to see more than just dulling everlasting Toronto architecture style of grey.
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Interesting idea, but again, very difficult to implement. In your world, would that Southend Student Housing horror show get top marks? At the end of the day, cost cutting isn't going to go away. Think about what happened when the 60/40 code changes came in - they were done with the naive idea that developers would start doing full wall assemblies with brick and insulation, but at the end of the day, they've just ensured new-builds are coated with awful, cheap, spandrel.

Legally too, what constitutes a 'colour'. Are there approved and not-approved RGB / CMYKs? Who is the arbiter? Who administers this program? If the City, can a 'ruling' be appealed to the Province? Doug certainly isn't going to stand in the way of his friends making money.
 
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ProjectEnd said:
Interesting idea, but again, very difficult to implement. In your would, would that Southend Student Housing horror show get top marks? At the end of the day, cost cutting isn't going to go away. Think about what happened when the 60/40 code changes came in - they were done with the naive idea that developers would start doing full wall assemblies with brick and insulation, but at the end of the day, they've just ensured new-builds are coated with awful, cheap, spandrel.

Legally too, what constitutes a 'colour'. Are there approved and not-approved RGB / CMYKs? Who is the arbiter? Who administers this program? If the City, can a 'ruling' be appealed to the Province? Doug certainly isn't going to stand in the way of his friends making money.
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It's one of those ideas that would have to be used in conjunction with other policies/incentives because as you have mentioned it would be tricky to implement. However, that doesnt mean it wouldnt be possible to do.

As for who would administer the program, the onus should be on the city to do it because as I said earlier, the province couldnt care less to force developers to improve the quality of their developments. Depending on what the policies/incentives look like, there wouldnt be any "ruling" that developers could appeal (ie: if it's a tax incentive program, developers cant appeal anything).

There are definitely things that the city could do to change things, which would allow us to see more developments like this one come to life.
 
It might be easier to specify what to can't use rather than what you can. Perhaps limiting the percentage of spandrel and glass on residential towers, of course there is no guarantee that other materials such as pre-cast panelling will be of superior quality.
 
Amare said:
It's one of those ideas that would have to be used in conjunction with other policies/incentives because as you have mentioned it would be tricky to implement. However, that doesnt mean it wouldnt be possible to do.

As for who would administer the program, the onus should be on the city to do it because as I said earlier, the province couldnt care less to force developers to improve the quality of their developments. Depending on what the policies/incentives look like, there wouldnt be any "ruling" that developers could appeal (ie: if it's a tax incentive program, developers cant appeal anything).

There are definitely things that the city could do to change things, which would allow us to see more developments like this one come to life.
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Another thing to consider is would many even take this up? Why do you see so many silver, grey and black BMWs? Why not yellow, red, green, etc? People care a lot about resale value and there's an ingrained perception that things that stand out won't be as valuable down the line as those that blend in.
 
ProjectEnd said:
Another thing to consider is would many even take this up? Why do you see so many silver, grey and black BMWs? Why not yellow, red, green, etc? People care a lot about resale value and there's an ingrained perception that things that stand out won't be as valuable down the line as those that blend in.
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I dont think the resale value would be hurt all that much to be honest. Prior to Covid, the condo and rental markets were booming with little sign things would putter down. Investors wanted to extract money in any which way they could, while buyers/renters were desperate to find something they could call home.

Toronto's market was booming to a point that virtually nothing could get in the way, which is much different then a car where a manufacturer (excl. Tesla) could ramp up supply at any given time provided they have some lead time.

The Preservationist said:
It might be easier to specify what to can't use rather than what you can. Perhaps limiting the percentage of spandrel and glass on residential towers, of course there is no guarantee that other materials such as pre-cast paneling will be of superior quality.
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I'm not sure limiting the amount spandrel and glass would help things out much, because as you even pointed out developers would just switch to cheap precast panels. This is why any incentive/credit program would have to incorporate a couple of things to encourage developers to stop going with the current status quo. For example if Pinnacle was so inclined with this project, they could have swapped the brick precast panels for some cheap cladding, a la what's pictured below (thankfully for whatever reason, they did not):

1603935023309.png
 
I've noticed that in 2020 there's been more warm tone coloured facades on the drawing board. Maybe that will become the norm mixed in with Blue green glass for the 2020s decade.
 
I have some news to share that is good for me, but it is mixed news with respect to my forum contributions...

I have accepted a new job that presents an exciting new opportunity. My final day at my current job is today, meaning this will be my last post of this project (and today for any pics of the entertainment district as a whole) from this angle.

Here's the nearly complete PJ Condos from this morning:

PXL_20201106_150834784.jpg


I had hoped to witness the rest of 19 Duncan's construction, and possibly even Mirvish Gehry from here, but alas, career must trump views. My new office is on a reasonably high floor in a quasi-suburban location. We'll see if it has any views worth sharing to UT. It is certainly possible...
 
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