at least G + C is willing to step outside of a box.. (I will admit I prefer aA more than G+C, but G+C isn't scared to integrate some curves into their designs unlike aA)
 
Somehow I forgot about ice. (doh!) The floor plates of those other 2 are still square though. G+C is normally horrid, but I have an odd affinity for aura.
 
Market Wharf is a square? I thought it was a slab. Somebody needs a basic geometry lesson ;)
 
Its a plain box dressed up with frivolous balcony design - like most of aA's highrise designs. In a way, they're bringing decoration back into architecture. It's Ironic because aA fans equate their designs with the likes of Mies for being simplistic and strictly functional, when in fact aA has much in common with the style that modernism rejected.

With that being said, I still personally like most of aA's projects.
 
The I-beams on Mies' TD Centre are equally "frivolous", but they were intended to express the materials being used within the structure. Can the same be said of aA's use of decoration?
 
I remember this being settled a ways back in the thread, but if someone could refresh my memory I'd appreciate it...

The 'exoskeleton' that will form the white bands on the north and south faces, those are not just part of the window-wall (i.e. spandrel or some coating) system and are a separate piece of cladding, creating some depth, correct?

EDIT: Looking at the large renders it seems apparent that they are indeed not a part of the window-wall, and a separate piece of cladding. Do we know what material they would consist of? Precast concrete?
 
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No, it's part of the curtainwall. And it is curtainwall, not windowwall. And I'm positive it's out of either fritted glass or aluminium panels, but I'm pretty sure it's actually glass. It won't look dissimilar to Ice, except that the bands will run on angles instead of wrapping around the building.
 
whatever said:
No, it's part of the curtainwall. And it is curtainwall, not windowwall. And I'm positive it's out of either fritted glass or aluminium panels, but I'm pretty sure it's actually glass. It won't look dissimilar to Ice, except that the bands will run on angles instead of wrapping around the building.
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a quote from 2011-Nov-24

Atlantis said:
It's going to be an external metal lattice, and not simply fritted glass. You can see a fly-through of a few renders posted in a video a few pages back: http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/showth...al-Alex-Lamb-Niche-47-aA)?p=549069#post549069
and there are a few other posts about it there as well.
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but the penthouse and the mech floors will for sure have the external metal lattice surrounding all four sides

I can also recall seeing a gap between the window and the ribbon on a floorplan when I co-oped at their office in July
 
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MBS said:
Its a plain box dressed up with frivolous balcony design - like most of aA's highrise designs. In a way, they're bringing decoration back into architecture. It's Ironic because aA fans equate their designs with the likes of Mies for being simplistic and strictly functional, when in fact aA has much in common with the style that modernism rejected.
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You mean Art Deco or period revivals? Or Postmodernism? aA is convincingly Modernist. Modernism isn't about rejecting ornamentation but minimizing it. The L beams on Mies' buildings are ornamentation plain and simple. They're not ornamentation in the sense of elaborate cornices or neoclassical pillars but rather minimalist. That's what Modernism is all about. Completely rejecting ornamentation isn't out of step with Modernism, but it's a rather rigid and dull interpretation.
 
junctionist said:
Modernism isn't about rejecting ornamentation but minimizing it.
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Exactly. aA does the opposite. Decoration is at the forefront of a lot of their designs including this one. The decorative metal bands on this building are the main design feature. It's not minimal and does not reference anything, it is frivolous decoration slapped on top. Contemporary-deco or something.
 
MBS said:
Exactly. aA does the opposite. Decoration is at the forefront of a lot of their designs including this one. The decorative metal bands on this building are the main design feature. It's not minimal and does not reference anything, it is frivolous decoration slapped on top. Contemporary-deco or something.
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The decorative bands are minimalist ornamentation from a historical perspective. Art Deco buildings had far more ornamentation in elaborate murals and carved stone patterns, for instance.
 
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