Toronto Ripley's Aquarium of Canada | 13.11m | 2s | Ripley Entertainment | B+H

Ya, I just thought maybe Vaughn would have something to say about it as I've sat in on a couple community meetings where he's spoken up about design. He seems to be the type of guy that understands the need for good design, so hopefully that carries over into this project.

I'm wondering what else can be done to the wall instead of a screen? I'm thinking an easy solution might be to plant trees and bushes and whatnot along the side, to at least provide some shade/green in what is a very desolate area, while simultaneously blocking out the blank wall. To be honest, I don't recall what the setbacks looked like, so whether there's enough room, who knows.
 
Maybe they could get that guy to paint some whales on it, like they did on Redpath and various other buildings around the world?
 
I'm skeptical about white roofs. If this was Atlanta sure, but this is Toronto and frankly we spend a good part of the year trying to heat, not cool our buildings. So in a way you could argue we should have a black roof policy and encourage heat island effect in our environment. Heat island effect is negative because in much of the US (and actually here for a few weeks of the year) the energy use profile peaks during summer cooling season. Considering this project is located a stones throw away from the enwave lake water cooling pump-house I don't think summer cooling concerns are best addressed by painting the roof white.

A white roof maintains the snow cover longer than a black roof which does provides insulating value.
 
Yes but its not about controling the interior climate of a building or even the micro-climate of a city. It's about modifying the global climate. Its why they call it global warming or global climate change. Good Torontonians must do their part for mother earth by doing as little as they can to add heat to their environment. Reflecting solar rays back into space through the use of white roofs is one way they can do that. ;)
 
Yes but its not about controling the interior climate of a building or even the micro-climate of a city. It's about modifying the global climate. Its why they call it global warming or global climate change. Good Torontonians must do their part for mother earth by doing as little as they can to add heat to their environment. Reflecting solar rays back into space through the use of white roofs is one way they can do that. ;)

I'm afraid that you have been miss-informed about the benefits of 'white roofs' and furthermore the impacts of the heat island effect. The heat island effect has more to do with air quality, storm water runoff and reductions in heating/cooling then directly reducing global warming and the solar ray example you have explained*. The direct connection between the heat island effect and 'global warming' is a little fuzzy. Considering that global warming is related to the reduction of solar radiation able to leave the earth’s atmosphere (due to greenhouse gases), increasing reflection of 'solar rays to space' may not necessarily be beneficial. You are right though, ‘Good Torontonians must do their part for mother earth by doing as little as they can to add heat to their environment’; we are on the same side of this issue.

*http://www.epa.gov/hiri/impacts/index.htm
 
You'd think being in an Environmental Studies Masters program, I'd know a thing or two about this, but I honestly don't have a clue beyond "white roofs" being looked at favourably by my classmates. There are thousands of opportunities in this city for green roofs. There's no reason to be up in arms over one development.
 
Interesting article. Toronto developer is bringing an aquarium to Times Square.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...650820646726.html?mod=residential_real_estate

New York's Times Square may be getting a new tenant: a seven-story aquarium.

Jerry Shefsky, a Toronto-based developer, said on Wednesday that he has signed a preliminary agreement with the landlord of an office tower on the western edge of Times Square to go forward with the $100 million project. He would install tanks featuring sharks, rays, penguins, otters, and other animals in the bottom floors of the 40-story building, known as 11 Times Square, hoping to attract some of the 35 million people who pass through Manhattan's major crossroads every year.

Mr. Shefsky, 76 years old, has built aquariums and shopping centers around the world. He cautioned in an interview that the lease agreement for 11 Times Square isn't yet final. But he said he may start building out the space as early as this April with the hope of opening the aquarium in September 2011.

A deal with Mr. Shefsky would be a long-awaited bit of good news for the developer of 11 Times Square, SJP Properties Inc., and its major financial backer, a real-estate fund managed by Prudential Financial Inc. SJP, led by New Jersey developer Steven Pozycki, broke ground on the tower in 2007 without having first secured a tenant, hoping that the hot Manhattan office market would bring sky-high rents as the building neared completion. But the market turned—New York City office rents plummeted 20% in 2009, according to Reis Inc.—and SJP's empty tower on the corner of 42nd Street and 8th Avenue has become a symbol of commercial-property woes.

SJP is also negotiating to lease 400,000 square feet in the building to law firm Proskauer Rose LLP, said a person familiar with the matter. The building is slated to be completed in the next few months.

A Prudential spokeswoman declined to comment, and Proskauer didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Mr. Pozycki declined to comment through a spokesman.

The proposed aquarium's unusual placement inside a skyscraper means it'll be different from most big-ticket fish exhibits. Preliminary plans call for about half of the floor space to be taken up by water exhibits, Mr. Shefsky said, while the rest will be occupied by things like a pirate museum and educational displays about the marine world. "It's anything but an aquarium in the format you might imagine," he said. Mr. Shefsky's company, Aquarium Developments Corp., also built the Newport Aquarium near Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Times Square project would likely have fewer fish than some of the high-profile aquariums built in recent years. Mr. Shefsky says he currently expects his tanks to contain about 600,000 gallons of water. Atlanta's Georgia Aquarium, which opened in 2005, has more than eight million gallons of water.

In snowy Midtown on Wednesday, there seemed to be some demand for another tourist attraction in the area. "Would I really like to go to an aquarium? No, I have one in Long Beach," said Helene Mayer, a 44-year-old occupational therapist from Los Angeles who had brought her 9-year-old son to the M&M World store in Times Square. But, she said, "now we're looking for another indoor activity to do," and an aquarium "would offer kids a great opportunity in a fun area."

Mr. Shefsky said he has lined up financial backers to help pay for the aquarium's installation, which will cost more than $100 million. He declined to name those backers, and he said he wasn't ready to release a rendering of the aquarium. Mr. Shefsky discussed his plans after an inquiry from a reporter.
 
According to Adam Vaughan's office these are the next steps dates: June 22, 2010 project will be before the Toronto and East York Community Council and on July 6-7, 2010 City Council will vote on this application.
 
IMO an aquarium in Toronto would be a fantastic idea. Toronto needs another year round attraction other than the CN Tower (which gets very boring after about 30 mins).
I’d definitely frequent this destination… I love fish

Fish are friends – not food :)
 
IMO an aquarium in Toronto would be a fantastic idea. Toronto needs another year round attraction other than the CN Tower (which gets very boring after about 30 mins).
I’d definitely frequent this destination… I love fish

Fish are friends – not food :)

Another year round attraction? Seriously? Here's a list for you that extends beyond the CN Tower: ROM, AGO, Hockey Hall of Fame, Science Centre, Gardiner Museum, other random museums, Eatons Centre, the various theatres/nightlife, our amazing neighbourhoods (it's not THAT cold here that people can't leave their hotel room and enjoy them)... Hell i could name 5 religious sites you could fill a day with (St James Cathedral, St Michael's Cathedral, St Paul's Basilica, St George's Greek Orthodox, BAPS Mandir). Right there, that's 3-4 days maybe even a week's worth (depending how much you like museums) of year-round attractions. This Aquarium is just another drop in the bucket and will just add to the depth of our tourism product.
 
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I think you misunderstood (or I'm misunderstanding your point). My post was in regards to our friend up there saying that the Tower was the only year-round attraction we have. I couldn't believe he said that, hence the "seriously?"

But ya I agree, the local population is going to use the site too in the same way the ROM depends on not just tourists but locals as well. If it's priced properly it's going be a great addition to the city's tourism product.
 
Okay, I've only been living in Toronto for a few years (moved here from London, UK), and I'm new to this forum, but can someone please explain to me... What's with this inferiority complex some people have about Toronto? There seems to a lot of pretentious whining, and meaningless phrases like "not world class" banded around in this forum. This is an amazing city, on par with the world's other great cities. Apart from a few of the glass-box condos, the architecture downtown is largely of a high standard. The mix of residential, retail, office, and entertainment is very well balanced here compared to most cities.

Anyway, I digress... Of course an aquarium is good for Toronto. Tourists are good for Toronto. It is pretentious to think Ripley's will "cheapen" the area. Quit whining, and support this amazing city as it grows. Remember, most people who appreciate buildings are NOT architects.
 
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