Developer: City of Toronto
Architect: Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, Adamson Associates Architects
  
Address: 92 Front St E, Toronto, Canada
Category: Institutional, Commercial (Office, Retail), Public Space / Park
Status: ConstructionCrane(s): 0
Height: 83 ft / 25.30 mStoreys: 5 storeys
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Overall very nice and quiet. No HVAC noise. No glaring issues. Well finished by contractors. Temperature was good. Solar gain was good. Seating was okay. Interior views amazing. Exterior views of downtown are just a tease. North and south views are well worth the wait. That good? Yes. 10-20 years worth of wait. Hmmm.
 
The building suffered from a similar problem as Foster's Pharmacy building at U of T - the expanse of drywall at the mezzanine is just awful, and there are execution problems all around (that blotched terrazzo is especially bad).

The good bones are there for a future gut and rebuild of the interior.

AoD
 
The building suffered from a similar problem as Foster's Pharmacy building at U of T - the expanse of drywall at the mezzanine is just awful, and there are execution problems all around (that blotched terrazzo is especially bad).

The good bones are there for a future gut and rebuild of the interior.

AoD

I recognize those errors, but the success of the market, certainly the interior, will be based on the the vendors and crowds that animate the space. I've been to probably a dozen indoor markets in Canada, Central America and Europe, and my memories recount the smells and sounds, not whether or not I spotted visible HVAC and plumbing on the exposed ceiling.

Please, please, paint those column bases. Please.

I doubt they'll be very visible come opening day.
 
I recognize those errors, but the success of the market, certainly the interior, will be based on the the vendors and crowds that animate the space. I've been to probably a dozen indoor markets in Canada, Central America and Europe, and my memories recount the smells and sounds, not whether or not I spotted visible HVAC and plumbing on the exposed ceiling.

I doubt they'll be very visible come opening day.

Exposed HVAC/plumbing isn't an issue - it's a RSH building, these elements are meant to be celebrated (if anything this building didn't celebrate them enough). The issue here is poor workmanship and dubious design choices (likely from VE).

AoD
 
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That would be even worse. What they should do is sandblast/sand them to give it a smoother, more uniform look.



I am not sure if I trust anyone's tastes on the part of the city.

AoD

I agree polishing would help on the columns, but it wouldn't be enough in my opinion. On other RSH buildings I notice they take the painting of columns and other vertical penetrations all the way to the ground. Even if these columns are half steel and half concrete, to me at least its a misstep, though if that's what the architect intended I will eat humble pie. Those columns should be blue in my mind, or even orange, but they are unsightly as grey exposed concrete. I think we have enough exposed concrete from other developers in this city (sadly).

Here is a good example of what I was hoping for kind of:
1741954802886.png

Centre Building at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
 
I agree polishing would help on the columns, but it wouldn't be enough in my opinion. On other RSH buildings I notice they take the painting of columns and other vertical penetrations all the way to the ground. Even if these columns are half steel and half concrete, to me at least its a misstep, though if that's what the architect intended I will eat humble pie. Those columns should be blue in my mind, or even orange, but they are unsightly as grey exposed concrete. I think we have enough exposed concrete from other developers in this city (sadly).

Here is a good example of what I was hoping for kind of:
View attachment 636659
Centre Building at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

The structural steel on concrete plinth motif isn't an issue in my books - it was used in their Barajas Airport T4 project as well; there is also the practicality aspect of it given the ground floor will be seeing a lot of movement in goods and whatnot as a farmers market, which will inevitably result in wear.

AoD
 
The structural steel on concrete plinth motif isn't an issue in my books - it was used in their Barajas Airport T4 project as well; there is also the practicality aspect of it given the ground floor will be seeing a lot of movement in goods and whatnot as a farmers market, which will inevitably result in wear.

AoD
Fair point on the interior ones. I'd still love at least the exterior columns to be painted, along with the mechanical fixtures outside the building. I don't expect my dreams to come true here though. 🤣
 

That blank wall was supposed to be tiled with what looks like stone. This whole project looks like textbook value engineering top to bottom.

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That blank wall was supposed to be tiled with what looks like stone. This whole project looks like textbook value engineering top to bottom.

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View attachment 636705

And this rendering is the VEed version of the original proposal.... The impressive thing is that the building still has a certain civic grandeur despite it all - and that's a testament to the skills of the firm and their concept.

AoD
 
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