It's definitely an improvement but couldn't they have added more seating? Looking at the picture above, there's one lonely bench on the right there and not much else. Given this is such a high traffic area, you'd expect way more seating options. Looks kinda sparse right now.
 
There are a lot more benches than one lol. I counted quite a few while walking by the other day. They also installed very thin benches with no backs, and the raised concrete planters serve as seating, too. You will have to check it out in person :D Looks really good.
 
Cellphone pics.


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And somehow a group of designers came upon the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform this lifeless grey area and turned it into... a slightly less lifeless grey area.

The only possible excuse for this is if they were trying to respect its former brutalist feel.
 
RC8 said:
And somehow a group of designers came upon the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform this lifeless grey area and turned it into... a slightly less lifeless grey area..
Click to expand...

I wish I could disagree with you but you're right, there is simply far too much grey. I am reserving my judgement for the final product but I definitely wish there were more trees and gardens. Perhaps when I see this area packed full of people I will get a better appreciation for why it is simply a wide open "lifeless grey area".
 
Kraylin said:
I wish I could disagree with you but you're right, there is simply far too much grey. I am reserving my judgement for the final product but I definitely wish there were more trees and gardens. Perhaps when I see this area packed full of people I will get a better appreciation for why it is simply a wide open "lifeless grey area".
Click to expand...

The plaza is just a blank canvass but the details are in colour. The large surface of the red glass breaks up the grey nicely and the CN Tower's LEDs and the SkyDome's blue lit roof are constantly adding colour to the surrounding area. Those balls are lit from within as well and I'm guessing that LEDs are being used and that they can change colour with the tower. Vegetation will also add interest through flowers, bushes and trees. After all, as you can see they've purposefully added planters. Finally, the secret ingredient are people themselves. They add movement and colour and indeed they add life to this "lifeless grey area". And that's how it's meant to be.
 
Tonight Newspaper: http://www.tonightnewspaper.com/2013/06/06/the-sharks-are-coming/


The Sharks Are Coming!

By Chris Lowry


...

This massive state-of-the-art facility right under the CN Tower will showcase a number of world firsts. The Jelly Gallery will feature the largest jellyfish “kreisel” tank in the world. A kreisel slowly circulates water in a circular pattern to keep the jellyfish suspended at all levels of the tank. “We’re the first ones to ever do jellies in the floor, that you can walk over, and jellies in the ceiling tank as well,” says Dehart.

The Canadian Waters gallery includes a kelp forest and delicate sea anemones with a surge machine that simulates wave action off the B.C. coast. In the Arctic Waters exhibit, you will see greyling, which have iridescent dorsal fins like miniature sailfish. There will be a Great Lakes Basin exhibit, including the prehistoric-looking burbot, massive muskies and all kinds of fish that we usually see on the end of a fish hook.

...

Toronto’s aquarium will be an important regional education facility, giving students access to a real marine environment in Ontario for the first time. “We are talking to U of T and Guelph, and we are already working with Dalhousie, they are holding our turtles and lobsters,” says general manager Peter Doyle. “We would also like the aquarium to be linked to local research issues in the Great Lakes and rivers of Canada.”

On a recent visit to Chicago, the great Shedd Aquarium seemed underwhelming to me. They appear to be dumbed down to a very juvenile level, with not much to offer for the more inquiring mind. Crowds of schoolchildren make it difficult to see the exhibits in the nested U-shaped corridors, an old design flaw. There are stuffed toy animals everywhere and no knowledgeable staff to be found. Will our gorgeous new aquarium be one more reason for Toronto to claim superiority over its rival to the south? Let’s hope so.
Click to expand...
 
It'd be awesome if that whole roof was orange like the insulation material. It's quite a striking colour right now.
 
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