[Traynor]

Plenty of cities have done it, and some developments in this city have managed to create new view corridors on a smaller scale. Why can't we build our city with greater sensitivity to our historical landmarks? Will it take a new urban reform movement to essentially halt development with severe height restrictions to wake us up?

But you speak from a position of an extreme viewpoint as if we all feel the way you do except for developers, when you say we need to wake up. I for one do not feel "view corridors" are ruined by signs of life behind them. Sure it's only one person's opinion but I like gleaming new towers behind Victorian or Edwardian structures. It shows a time-line of where we were and where we are. If you want to maintain the look of a time period there is Pioneer Village for that. This is a living growing city, not a museum exhibition.

As I pointed out in another thread somewhere: Who says where to draw the line? That is a very subjective point of view. Perhaps Old city Hall destroyed someone's view up Terrauley Street back in 1899. Should it have never been built? Or what of an Iroquois trader paddling his canoe in Lake Ontario? His view of the entire Boreal Forrest was ruined when Fort York was built. Who's idea of a view is the one to preserve?

 

[junctionist]

But you speak from a position of an extreme viewpoint as if we all feel the way you do except for developers, when you say we need to wake up. I for one do not feel "view corridors" are ruined by signs of life behind them. Sure it's only one person's opinion but I like gleaming new towers behind Victorian or Edwardian structures. It shows a time-line of where we were and where we are. If you want to maintain the look of a time period there is Pioneer Village for that. This is a living growing city, not a museum exhibition.

As I pointed out in another thread somewhere: Who says where to draw the line? That is a very subjective point of view. Perhaps Old city Hall destroyed someone's view up Terrauley Street back in 1899. Should it have never been built? Or what of an Iroquois trader paddling his canoe in Lake Ontario? His view of the entire Boreal Forrest was ruined when Fort York was built. Who's idea of a view is the one to preserve?

We draw the line with the quality of the landmark's architecture. If it's one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture we have in the city, or the greatest landmark in a neighbourhood, then we deem it of an exceptional quality that shouldn't be compromised with an ordinary new building.

Is "signs of life" the only merit of having a run-of-the-mill building sticking out of a historic landmark building? That's weak; look around you, life surrounds you.

Also, why shouldn't parts of our city from certain eras be preserved? You don't like old Montreal or Quebec City? Those aren't museums and I'd rather visit those places than Pioneer Village. The modern world continues in those places yet the achievements of previous generations of city builders are respected and preserved.

 

[steveve]

Trump slowly emerging as a skyscraper from city hall

just a few photos from yesterday... May 22

alot turned out blurry

Trump

by me steveve

 

[Urban Shocker]

Boxes are also a bore when there are too many of them... regardless if they are Mies, Clewes, Tom, Dick, or Harry.

Define your decree "too many".

 

[UrbanAffair]

I think many many people think toronto has too many boxes. Personally, I think we just don't have enough of anything other than boxes.

 

[Urban Shocker]

Personally, I think we just don't have enough of anything other than boxes.

Define your decree "enough".

 

[urbandreamer]

There's a reason the box is most efficient at packaging--what do you use when you ship via Fedex? A box. Duh.

 

[Traynor]

We draw the line with ...

Spoken with haughty entitlement, as if you are the Royal WE. These 'we' you speak of, are they the ones that hold the universal rights to God's truth? There is no such thing. Just various opinions no matter how just you feel.

It still sounds like a person's opinion or even a group of people, but not ALL the people and not mine.

In my opinion, Trump blocks a good deal of the view of Scotia Plaza. One of Canada's finest examples of Post Modernist architecture. By your own standards, Trump and Bay Adelaide should not have been built because, quote: "If it's one of the finest examples of Romanesque (ed. or other example of) architecture we have in the city, or the greatest landmark in a neighbourhood..." then it should be preserved.

I am not advocating tearing down any of our classic architecture like the Main Legislative Building at Queen's Park, but I also don't believe trapping it in amber for all time immemorial is realistic in a thriving metropolis.

 

[UrbanAffair]

Define your decree "enough".

I mean simply that I would like to see other shapes in the floorplan of buildings in the future other than just boxes. Any geometric shape will do.

 

[UrbanAffair]

We aren't sending people anywhere, we are building urban fabric, and something other than a monotonous and constant box ALL THE TIME could be nice. All that I am suggesting... aA is nice, but it isn't enough. There are other styles out there that are more progressive and fresh.

 

[steveve]

Posted on trumps official construction website:

MAY 5th (its a little old which is why it says 27th floor)

Trump Toronto Taking Shape – Inside and Out
Work well underway on 27th floor of tower. Several crews now onsite working on concrete pours, curtain wall installation and drywalling.
The hotel floors of the tower are almost complete with the crews currently working on level 27. While more floors are poured and the tower climbs higher, the granite and glass curtain wall is being installed. Work is also focusing on placing the exterior panels on the twelfth floor and installation is gathering pace. In fact, curtain wall installers are able to finish each floor in approximately four days. In addition, the interior drywalling of the eighth, ninth and tenth floors consecutively, is now under way.
“We continue to be thrilled about the recent developments on the site and look forward to construction starting on the residential floors in the coming weeks,” says Alex Shnaider, Chairman of Talon International Development Inc., the building’s developer. “The personality and character of the building is starting to show, and that’s a really exciting development.”
Construction crews are able to work speedily and effectively on all aspects of the building. In fact, the site of the tower is a hub of activity for up to 22 hours each day, with some shifts beginning onsite at 3:00am and other shifts finishing at 1:00am.
“With the installation of the curtain wall underway, the tower is really beginning to come into its own on Bay Street, truly taking shape as a classic, yet modern landmark in the city of Toronto,” says Val Levitan, President and CEO of Talon. “I am continually impressed at the speed in which the panels are being fastened into place and, more importantly, the look and feel of the shining, green glass walls. The exterior exudes pure luxury, and this will be like no other residential tower on the market.”
Construction work will soon be focused on completion of the hotel floors and starting the development of the mechanical floors on levels 30, 31 and 32.

http://construction.trumptoronto.ca/2010/05/construction-update-–-may-2010/

 

[junctionist]

Spoken with haughty entitlement, as if you are the Royal WE. These 'we' you speak of, are they the ones that hold the universal rights to God's truth? There is no such thing. Just various opinions no matter how just you feel.

It still sounds like a person's opinion or even a group of people, but not ALL the people and not mine.

In my opinion, Trump blocks a good deal of the view of Scotia Plaza. One of Canada's finest examples of Post Modernist architecture. By your own standards, Trump and Bay Adelaide should not have been built because, quote: "If it's one of the finest examples of Romanesque (ed. or other example of) architecture we have in the city, or the greatest landmark in a neighbourhood..." then it should be preserved.

I am not advocating tearing down any of our classic architecture like the Main Legislative Building at Queen's Park, but I also don't believe trapping it in amber for all time immemorial is realistic in a thriving metropolis.

The fact is, however, that unlike the legislature at Queen's Park or Old City Hall, Scotia Plaza wasn't meant to be a view terminus at the end of a corridor. There was never an idea like that.

Also, not all statements about architecture are subjective. Some are objective, because some buildings are simply better detailed than others, use better materials, and/or do a better job at problem solving and urban design.

A city of any size can realistically preserve its view corridors and plan new ones; it only affects a tiny but culturally significant part of the city. It's up to its residents and leaders not to be indifferent.

 

[Tewder]

unfortunately your photoshop joke falls short. I've embraced reality just to impress you!

Why should you embrace anything you wouldn't want to? Your photography is amazing and it has a strong point of view. US has his point of view too, as we are all aware, but it is not the only valid point of view no matter how much he believes it to be. This notion that desiging a perfectly straight line or box is somehow better than anything else one could conceive of is a bore.

 

[old boy]

It's not so much that boxiness is bad, but more that a lot of new builds in the city simply re-iterate that theme, and are lauded for it. Clearly,Toronto is a leader in honing the box, literally taking it to new heights. But at some point, less is just less, and not more at all.

 

[Urban Shocker]

This notion that desiging a perfectly straight line or box is somehow better than anything else one could conceive of is a bore.

Indeed!

Boxes only bore when they're done poorly - witness all those "Mies" buildings that were designed by pale imitators of Mies, compared to the handsomely proportioned boxes that he designed. And when buildings are judged on their design merits in that way, the handsome and non-rectilinear "Marilyn" towers ( for instance ) will shame an inelegant stack like the Trump tower no matter what colour it is or what it is clad in.