adHominem said:
My first reaction was "what is this bullshit", but this does actually relate to the south market building better. The barrel roofline, the regular rhythm of vertical supports. But compared to the competition entry it's boring as hell.

Edit: I agree with AoD, it's a small preliminary drawing, and there's no need to panic. (Yet.) I hope to be convinced when I see more detail.
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I wasn't a huge fan of the winning selection, but this is quite a downgrade.
 
At the Government management Committee today they decided to send the report about more $$ to Council "without recommendations" - a tied vote. John Sewell deputed to say he does not like the new building - though it won an international competition and is, in general, supported by the neighbourhood.
 
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What's the reason behind John Sewell's dislike of the building? I am a bit surprised they didn't manage to kill it, given the makeup of the committee:

Vincent Crisanti
Doug Ford
Mary Fragedakis
Norman Kelly (Chair)
Giorgio Mammoliti
Pam McConnell

AoD
 
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AlvinofDiaspar said:
DSC:

What's the reason behind John Sewell's dislike of the building? I am a bit surprised they didn't manage to kill it, given the makeup of the committee:

Vincent Crisanti
Doug Ford
Mary Fragedakis
Norman Kelly (Chair)
Giorgio Mammoliti
Pam McConnell

AoD
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He said that the design "insults the buildings adjacent to it" and 'does not fit it'. I suspect that Pam McConnell who supports it will be able to get the staff recommendation approved at Council (to continue funding detailed design and work on finding more $$ from Section 37 and in the capital budget next year).
 
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Oh gawd, what does he want, a banal brick building? Come to think of it, St. Lawrence Hall to the north doesn't "quite" fit in stylistically either...

I am *really* curious who the swing vote of the 4 is.

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
DSC:

Oh gawd, what does he want, a banal brick building?

I am *really* curious who the swing vote of the 4 is.

AoD
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I wouldn't be surprised. Look at how his reform movement built up the St. Lawrence area: with buildings like those along the Esplanade near St. Lawrence Market that display good sensitivity to the traditional urban fabric (and have brick facades) but look rather boring. There's a strong case, however, for a market building to be an impressive landmark because it functions as a central meeting place. The long history of the area as a marketplace also highlights the importance of distinctive architecture to reinforce the sense of place.
 
I was really surprised to see the comments on that article were predominantly anti-Ford. Then again I never read the Sun so I just assumed it was a bedrock of support.

To be honest though I wouldn't mind seeing this thing get put on hold at this point. What's proposed now is so watered down it's not worth the 100 million, in my opinion. Oh and 250 parking spots? Don't remember reading that before, I'm surprised locals aren't up in arms over it.
 
X-ray:

TBH I don't see a huge cheapening regarding the project - I just think that the working renderings offers a rather poor comparison to those competition ones. As to the parking spots - I think the parking component have always been there, though not sure about whether there was an increase in the exact number of spots.

AoD
 
Sadly I too question whether the cheapened version is worth pursuing. The original was a brilliant combination of civic temple and futuristic factory. Now it just looks like a factory. The rhythm of narrow vertical units - a key strength of the original facade and roofline - has been diminished if not completely lost. This just seems to water down rather than enhance the neighbourhood's architectural heritage - see the Berczy vs Market Wharf.
 
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If the city can't build something outstanding here now, I'd strongly prefer waiting until it can. This is too important a section of the city to have such mediocrity foisted upon it.
 
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