WislaHD said:
This is the touristy epicentre of the downtown after all.
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Yes, who would know better than Oxford which owns the Convention Centre and the adjacent Hotel complex
i'm not worried about Oxford building up this area and more worried if it was Menkes, Tridel, or the other 1/2 dozen developers building all over town
 
TheTigerMaster said:
The two eastern towers looked like they had tremendous potential. It would've worked nicely with CIBC Square a few blocks away. The two western towers could have been great, or terrible, depending on materials chosen. The splash of colour in this area would've been welcomed regardless, though

As for the new proposal, there's nothing great about how the tower meets the street. As mentioned in the tweets posted above, it's a city block sized office lobby. This thing is going to be absolutely spartan at ground level. Why didn't they design the ground level to be more permeable, or install retail or programming to give people a reason to linger?

The rest of the architectural design is nice, but totally generic. This design would suit any generic Mississauga office or condo development. The swoopiness of this design already feels dated, imo.

Even in their own renders, the view from the north (aka, the view 98% of us will be seeing) is totally bland and hardly stands out from its surroundings. The fins are a lazy attempt at creating visual interest. I'm not even confident that the fins will be prominently visible from the north at ground level. Whoop de doo.

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I don't dislike the towers, but they really are simply a standard box design with a "frill" at the top.
The park over the rail yard is however a show-stopper. Toronto needs this park as well as the balance of the Rail lands park the city is working on.

I do wonder how they will resolve the wind loading on these "flaps" unless of course they are simply a web of steel members.
 
Our writer Julian Mirabelli has completed his report on Union Park's first appearance before the Design Review Panel, and while the vote may have been in support, there were lots of conditions on that support. Here's the detail that you'll be interested in!

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The CN Tower has been the landmark symbol representing Toronto since it was built.
For me any tower that close to it and that tall should be world-class designed stopper, something even better than the absolute towers in Mississauga.
 
Mercenary said:
I am impressed. The DRP gave surprisingly good feedback. I agree with all the issues they outlined.
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I like their suggestion that the taller office tower should be the one to the west. I like the suggestion that the north side should not look like 'the back', that the park should be more significant, that the complex needs finer grain at ground level, that the winter garden should reach out more, etc. I like just about all of the suggestions.

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Ok, I'm glad that the DRP was able to express what to me just felt like something was "off". I applaud the effort to add flourish to the buildings but they don't sit well with me directly behind the SkyDome and crowding on to the CN Tower.

I'd like to see more deference given to both of our skyline's icons. As much as I call for unique building shapes, I don't think this is the place for an ostentatious design. Those curved crowns seem to be waving its arms as if saying: "look at me! look at me!".

I couldn't quite put my finger on it until now. They remind me of 2 of these gas station inflatable dolls standing behind the SkyDome:

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I think that beauty and uniqueness can come in the details as seen close up and at street level rather than large flourishes seen in the skyline.

I'd like narrower towers as seen from the south with more space in between them to allow for more visual passthrough to the sky behind them and mirrored finishes to reflect the sky in front. The east and west sides could have more overt design features.

I like how the DRP pointed out the park that seems to have too many ideas and no singular purpose or focal point. There's no getting around that this is right outside a baseball stadium and will be used by fans arriving to and leaving the game. The park should absolutely be a place for fans, both those attending the game and people sitting on a lawn and watching the game for free on big screens. Maple Leaf Square/Jurassic Park provides a blueprint. Those are fans. They'll spend money on merchandise and they'll eat at restaurants. This development should embrace that in its choices of retailers. Building a beer garden at the park is another idea.

All said, I'm excited to have this land redeveloped and the rail corridor decked over. I'm looking forward to seeing the refinements.
 
For such a prominent site, the proposal lacks a grand vision in my opinion. It is very clear that the design team was not looking internationally for inspiration, projects in South America and Asia come to mind.
 
After the tall, iconic CN tower, really what other buildings in Toronto can be considered a " signature " ? The new proposals are all very similar in overall height so they won't stand out on height alone. I just hope they won't end up appearing chunky in order to achieve maximum floor spaces.
 
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