TonyV said:
I don't like Ten York for its effect on the skyline viewed from the lake. Our skyline was just starting to look really fine, with the addition of the twin slender towers of Ice. The slab of Ten York will obliterate Ice and really wreck the effect. It's too bad, too bad.
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The city Kill the skyline view back in 1860, but more 1900 when landfill was place in front of the existing shoreline that is 3,000 feet south of it now. That landfill will build this tower as well others.

Anything south of the Gardiner is more a blight than the Gardiner. Anything south of the Queens Quay block the waterfront view.
 
^ Do you have a phobia of new construction, or is it an inability to realize that an evolving city will have an evolving skyline? Heck, by your definition, even the CN Tower should not have been built.
 
Since major streets like Yonge and Spadina were extended to almost the water's edge on landfill, development cannot block views to the lake along those streets. The Gardiner, however, does block those views.
 
The Status of this project on urban Toronto is: Complete
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The status of all the projects right now is complete. They needed to be changed as the new map was built. The status on all projects is now slowly being updated. Will be corrected in the next few weeks. And thanks for noticing.
 
The Status has been updated to: Pre-Construction

anyway thanks admin for your cooperation.
 
For those who are defending this tower as some sort of departure from Tridel's spandrel-covered recent offerings (300 Front, etc.) and who don't believe my read on the renderings, please look at the model of this project in The Tridel Store.

I love a lot of Wallman's work, but I have to say yet again: this city NEEDS to move past its obsession with glazed+spandrel facades. There are a wealth of materials out there that are more effective visually and in terms of energy performance. I'm glad that there are better environmental measures in place now, but it's disappointing that spandrel glass is being used as a solution instead of other, more interesting cladding choices.
 
SP!RE said:
For those who are defending this tower as some sort of departure from Tridel's spandrel-covered recent offerings (300 Front, etc.) and who don't believe my read on the renderings, please look at the model of this project in The Tridel Store.

I love a lot of Wallman's work, but I have to say yet again: this city NEEDS to move past its obsession with glazed+spandrel facades. There are a wealth of materials out there that are more effective visually and in terms of energy performance. I'm glad that there are better environmental measures in place now, but it's disappointing that spandrel glass is being used as a solution instead of other, more interesting cladding choices.
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Totally agree with you....

for example, replacing aluminum cladding with granite...hopefully Tridel will do something stunning to this project Ten York, since its going to be in front of Toronto downtown , in one of the most important spots not just in Toronto but in Canada, beside that city of Toronto MUST do a lot of improvements to the area especially to the Gardiner Expressway.
 
SP!RE said:
For those who are defending this tower as some sort of departure from Tridel's spandrel-covered recent offerings (300 Front, etc.) and who don't believe my read on the renderings, please look at the model of this project in The Tridel Store.

I love a lot of Wallman's work, but I have to say yet again: this city NEEDS to move past its obsession with glazed+spandrel facades. There are a wealth of materials out there that are more effective visually and in terms of energy performance. I'm glad that there are better environmental measures in place now, but it's disappointing that spandrel glass is being used as a solution instead of other, more interesting cladding choices.
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The problem is that nothing approaches the price point of the window wall / spandrel combination. Developers know they can move their products relatively quickly so few are motivated to invest in more diverse solutions.
 
ProjectEnd said:
The problem is that nothing approaches the price point of the window wall / spandrel combination. Developers know they can move their products relatively quickly so few are motivated to invest in more diverse solutions.
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True. The trend these days in Toronto, especially with more design-build happening, is developers bring their own idea for the project to the architect and it's "MAKE ME THIS!" on as quick a timeline as possible.

Time is money. And unique solutions take a bit of time.
 
Ryan_T said:
Took an architectural tour in Chicago yesterday. I really wish we'd use more stone and steel. The buildings down here really embarrass Toronto. No comparison.
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Did you happen to tour South Loop, the newest collection of buildings in Chicago's skyline, or was that conveniently left out? Embarrassing ourselves? Hardly. You're just comparing different times. Comparing Chicago's newest buildings to ours shows that we are actually doing a much better job than they are. Had our population been over 3.5 million in 1950, maybe we'd have more of a historical high rise footing (oh, and just because we don't have many historical high rises, that doesn't excuse trying to protect every shack and townhouse older than 4 decades). Toronto is an infinitely better city than Chicago in every way, including modern architecture, but you're right, our historical architecture is no match to Chicago's, or Buenos Aires', or New York's, or practically any other city that was significantly more populous than Toronto during the early to mid 20th century. Comparing Toronto's skyline to Chicago's and expecting the same level of historical architectural presence is like comparing Toronto's museums to those in Beijing, and being disappointed by the lack of Chinese artifacts here.
 
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I agree that we shouldn't put too much weight into the whole "it will ruin the view of the skyline from the lake." Keep in mind that for a good 25-30 years Harbour Plaza was the face of Toronto from the lake. Plus I think there will be enough density in the area for it not to stand out like a sore thumb.

That does not dismiss the fact that this is a really disappointing design and given Tridel's track record we have the right to be suspicious. The base looks good, and the tower glazing is a refreshing break from the grey and blue of the area. But the tower is definitely mediocre, with a crown that looks straight outta' Bayview & Sheppard.
 
Any legit world city would be accepting nothing less than the Piano/Rogers/SOM top tier of prestige international firms for such a prominent site. Typically we get the honourable mention of respected local design firms and a local developer notorious for tossing up bland, cheapo suburban boxes with the worst cladding they can get away with. This mentality will forever doom us to self loathing mediocrity and endless hand-wringing.
 
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I'm always amazed by the prominence of balconies in almost all new high-rise residential projects, especially in the downtown core, and also at how infrequently people actually use the space. It's true that the addition of a balcony tends to increase the salability of a condo (particularly in today's marketplace), however I find that whenever I am looking up at these occupied buildings, the outdoor space is notoriously unoccupied. This is true regardless of the season, time of day, weather, location, etc. Conversely, low-rise buildings with a tighter connection to the street and neighbourhood, are populated with tenants that trend towards enjoying their outdoor balcony space. I would hope that the pattern of throwing balconies on every high-rise condo, particularly those on prominent sites, will end. Perhaps then we will have more towers that implement a wider range of construction materials and design concepts.
 
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