I like the way they seem to have opened up the retail on Wellesley. Currently it's just a slab that faces the south side.
 
The Britt? Oh for the love of God. Why can't they name the project Sutton Place. Britt Residences sounds tacky and is unnecessary after a great name like Sutton Place.
 
Tulse said:
Sure, but I thought the whole point of 43 Gerrard was to mix up styles intentionally. This looks less playful.
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I think this is a more uniform looking "stacked" building. Gerrard works, but there is so much going on with that building I don't know where to look first!

And the old Sutton Place will definitely be less playful as a retrofit compared to a new build.
 
canmark said:
Why does it look like 4 different buildings stacked on top of each other?
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Because the architects are scrambling to catch up with what some of our better local designers are doing ... and failing to match them. The more interesting question is what motivates this trend away from residential towers that make a single, collective statement ( Casa, say ... ) to buildings that stress assemblies of shapes, complexity, and a suggestion of individuality. The best examples, which park familiar Modernist-inspired shapes in unexpected places and rearrange the established order of things, are head-turners - aA's design for the King Charlotte condo is a favourite of mine, and 60 Colborne.
 
Pretty much everything architecturally about the tower above the first floor. The current podium to the east side is worse than useless, but there's nothing wrong with the tower other than it's just showing its age somewhat. It's quite a handsome example of brutalism.

42
 
SP!RE said:
The Britt? Oh for the love of God. Why can't they name the project Sutton Place. Britt Residences sounds tacky and is unnecessary after a great name like Sutton Place.
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Sounds kinda Jay Ward-ish to me--esp. if they add a twin called "Ponsonby"

534777-ponsonby_britt_large.png
 
scrapergeek said:
Being (relatively) new to the city, I don't have the nostalgia factor for the original structure, which (to me) is just yet another example of an ugly brutalist slab.

I think P&S have done a fantastic redesign, especially with the podium. I look forward to seeing this completed, and a little less brutalism on the skyline. Now will somebody please turn their attention to redeveloping the Sheraton Centre!
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Actually, relative newness to the city is no excuse for any architectural philistinism, whether it regards Victorianism or Brutalism. And in principle, those who are defending Sutton Place presently would probably do likewise re something similar in your own home town or wherever you come from...
 
How long, I wonder, until they reclad the CN Tower all in glass too?

Just another step towards the entire city eventually disappearing into its own translucence...
 
I think Lanterra is probably one of the better developers in Toronto, but this thing is a total cliche of the Toronto condo market.

1) Superficial and generic name fitting for a superficial and generic design.

2) Will probably be targeted to clueless investors with a series of hyped-up VVVVVVVVVVVVIP events. At $800 a square foot it will be a decade(s) before resale values catch up and overall inventory is absorbed. By that point I predict we will start to see systematic failure of the glass cladding and window wall assemblies and maintenance issues due to shoddy workmanship.

On another note, I'm interested in how they will add a full 9 stories and pool to an existing building :cool:. That's very impressive from an engineering standpoint.
 
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I actually love the port cochere and how its set back from the street. There's a lot that could be done from a landscaping perspective to add a bit of flair, but its a very metropolitan entrance to a hotel (I think). The facade around Wellesley is relatively useless... but its not like it has anything to play off of (it faces an empty lot).

This proposal, however, is horrible. I'm also not sure who would pay $800 a square foot to live at the corner of Bay Street and Wellesley. I believe Five was in the $550 range?
 
adma said:
Actually, relative newness to the city is no excuse for any architectural philistinism.
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To brand someone a philistine for disliking brutalism is somewhat, um... brutal don't you think?

Or has it suddenly become "cool" to love these old concrete lumps? What's next, a concrete iPhone? :)
 
I don't dislike Brutalism (I'm actually a fan of Robarts Library, or "Ft. Book"), but I don't think there is anything particularly special about the Sutton Place as an example of that style. Is there something here I'm missing?
 
Tulse said:
I don't dislike Brutalism (I'm actually a fan of Robarts Library, or "Ft. Book"), but I don't think there is anything particularly special about the Sutton Place as an example of that style. Is there something here I'm missing?
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I think there is something you're missing. Stare at the building a while, you may just catch on to the elegance of it. There's certainly no elegance in the hackneyed design of the proposal that would replace it.
 
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