[Filip]

I made a thread years ago on SSC about unbuilt projects in Toronto. In fact, many haven't been dealt with in the Unbuilt books, so maybe there is hope for #3!

World Trade Centre, Toronto - only the residential portion of the plans were built, aptly named 'Residence of the World Trade Centre'. Designed by Zeidler I believe.

Spadina Hotel - on the site of the Hudson condos

Harbour City Phase 1 - I believe UT 1 dealt with the island airport plans, but the first few phases of this were built, the rest thankfully weren't.

First Toronto Tower - on the site of the ill fated proposals of the Graphic Arts Building

300 Bloor East - another PoMo nightmare

University Theatre and Hotel - no idea where this project was to go, I assume it might be University Avenue

Celebrity Hotel and Condos - again, no idea of location but interesting brutalist curves on this one

CN Royal Trust - I think this was for the foot of University Avenue, not sure

I also remember seeing masterplans for the Marathon Realty lands (today's railways lands east and west). Lots of pyramid and dome topped buildings. The real estate crash of the late 80s took swift care of those proposals.

 

[thecharioteer]

Great examples!

The King/Spadina project was a proposal by Carlos Ott for Great Gulf Homes.

The 300 Bloor East proposal was by a Spanish architect whose name escapes me.

The University Theatre project was by Brisbin Brooks Beynon on the site of the old University Theatre on Bloor (just west of Bellair).

 

[Urban09]

Those are very cool. The Harbour City Phase 1 image is actually of the full proposal for Harbour Square. It's shown (and I mention it) in the Harbour City aerial at Fig. 7-4 in the first Unbuilt Toronto book. The original plan for Harbour City (when the Harbour Commission was proposing it, before it was taken over by the province) was for towers, however. You can catch a glimpse of those as a background condition in the illustration at Fig. 27-1 in the new book (showing the Olympic stadium).

I wonder if the Celebrity Hotel and Condos were to go where the Celebrity Place apartments/condos are at Jarvis and Wellesley?

 

[Urban09]

Although I had posted here that it would be free, I have found out, unfortunately, that the ROM will be charging for my Unbuilt Toronto talk on November 23. It had been listed as free in their "Let's ROM" booklet, but they have updated their website now to say that this was an error. They are charging $10 for members and $12 for non-members (and $8 for friends of the Institute for Contemporary Culture).

 

[adma]

The 300 Bloor East proposal was by a Spanish architect whose name escapes me.

Ricardo Bofill IIRC. PoMo Starchitecture.

Incidentally, I wonder if what's there now is a de facto watered-down version of Bofill's proposal...

 

[Filip]

Those are very cool. The Harbour City Phase 1 image is actually of the full proposal for Harbour Square. It's shown (and I mention it) in the Harbour City aerial at Fig. 7-4 in the first Unbuilt Toronto book. The original plan for Harbour City (when the Harbour Commission was proposing it, before it was taken over by the province) was for towers, however. You can catch a glimpse of those as a background condition in the illustration at Fig. 27-1 in the new book (showing the Olympic stadium).

I wonder if the Celebrity Hotel and Condos were to go where the Celebrity Place apartments/condos are at Jarvis and Wellesley?

When I volunteered at my high school library to get my hours, I received as a gift from the librarian an urban planning handbook from Metro from the late 60s. It has a bunch of amazing aerials and some projects that haven't been built. I may scan the rest of the pages.

 

[donoreo]

I purchased both of these books (just got #2 yesterday) for my brother as gifts. He loves this sort of thing. I, of course, take a good look through them as well.

 

[Filip]

Great examples!

The King/Spadina project was a proposal by Carlos Ott for Great Gulf Homes.

The 300 Bloor East proposal was by a Spanish architect whose name escapes me.

The University Theatre project was by Brisbin Brooks Beynon on the site of the old University Theatre on Bloor (just west of Bellair).

Awesome! Thanks for the information.

Ricardo Bofill IIRC. PoMo Starchitecture.

Incidentally, I wonder if what's there now is a de facto watered-down version of Bofill's proposal...

We had a Bofill project in Toronto? Wow, I'm a big fan of his PoMo. I love the outrageously Greek-revival 77 West Wacker Dr. Not that Greek architecture was ever meant to go 200m+, but it was applied incongrously but felicitously to 20th century massing.

I believe the Bellagio condos stand there, no association to Bofill.

 

[adma]

I believe the Bellagio condos stand there, no association to Bofill.

But as per my point, the overall diagonal-ish massing seems a carryover from Bofill's scheme--like, a more drastic version of how the Yonge-Eg Minto project went from SOM to Zeidler...

 

[Urban Shocker]

... and the Pantages condo tower from Safdie (?) ... to whoever.

 

[Automation Gallery]

Hahaha...how about this most recent one....think of all the nice herbs you could grow

Grow-up

If designer Gordon Graff gets his way, a new skyscraper in Toronto’s Theatre District could be the unlikely source of food for 35,000 residents.
The SkyFarm project is the concept-only design for a 58-floor tower that would produce as much food as a 420-hectare farm. The building would be 238-metres tall and contain 750,000-square metres of hydroponic growing area, with products ranging from soybeans to strawberries to high-rise fields of lettuce. A service core at the back of the tower would include irrigation and electrical systems, and an isolated lower area could house chickens bred for both eggs and meat.
http://torontoist.com/2007/06/is_toronto_a_fu/

 

[wopchop]

Now that's how you respect local neighbourhood context. Wow. Just massive.

(To be clear, I do like the idea of vertical farms)