Toronto buildings everyone loves to hate, but you think are OK

[elook]

I'm partial to Space (Richmond and George) although I wish they would have built the original. Either way, it gets a lot of negative press, but to my mind is a decent addition to the neighbourhood.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

hmm...Metro Hall? My dream is to run some vines up its rooftop trellis.

 

[Edward Skira]

I'm partial to Space (Richmond and George) although I wish they would have built the original. Either way, it gets a lot of negative press, but to my mind is a decent addition to the neighbourhood.

Speaking of Space they just completely redid the interlocking stone on the driveway. This building is almost new and they already have issues?

 

[AndreaPalladio]

Maybe something to do with the gas line? Ours was taken up and redone for that reason.

 

[salvius]

77 Elm is an absolutely hideous building, precisely because of the terrible base. It offers absolutely no kidness to anyone beneath it. I'd shed no tears to see it gone. That part of downtown, in general, doesn't do much for me.

I do love Robarts, however, though the interior could use work.

 

[junctionist]

Is 77 Elm supposed to resemble something other than a building? Robarts is supposed to look like a peacock from the right angle.

 

[ShonTron]

I don't hate Robarts at all. It's one brutalist building I think has a lot of architectural merit, even if it is brutalist and not entirely urban.

Another one is the Ryerson Business Building. Sure, it's cheap, and the clash of materials between the retail, parking and university, but inside, it's not bad at all, and gave new life to Dundas, which badly needed it. I think it's OK, but not more than that.

Kerr Hall is another, though I would be fine with sacrificing portions of it (particularly the north side) as long as the idea of the Quad is maintained, but the south part of the building must stay, as should the murals in the central portion of the east block.

I also don't mind 2 Bloor West (CIBC), though I would have liked them to keep the old CIBC logo on it. The newer crappy swoosh really doesn't fit. HBC tower is okay, but the base needs to go.

77 Elm, Jorgenson and Sheraton Centre all get my golden wrecking ball award.

 

[ganjavih]

I'd pay a month's salary to get a chance to operate the wrecking ball that puts 77 Elm out of its misery.

 

[Hydrogen]

^No, no, this is the "buildings you secretly like" thread.



Another building I love but many other people hate is U of T's Graduate House.

 

[marcus_a_j]

I like the Scarborough Civic Centre...I don't know how other people feel about it but it's a "building I secretly like"

 

[monkeyronin]

This beauty.

And while we're at it, why not throw in this collection of buildings?

Why aren't my pictures showing up? Anyway, they are the Sheraton Centre and St. Jamestown.

 

[junctionist]

Make sure the image url ends with .jpg or .gif. I love the concrete squares on the windowless sides of the Sheraton Centre.

 

[CDL.TO]

It's the south face of the Sheraton Centre tower that makes me hate it. I think most other people on this forum hate it for the ground level and podium more than for the tower itself.

 

[Urban Shocker]

Yes, though perhaps it could be opened up to the city at pedestrian level, at the south and north sides, in some future renovation? There's plenty of room for taxis and other vehicles to drive in at the York Street end and I think that works well. And the tower was also situated at the west end of the site, to allow views from NPS across the lower south tower to the tall buildings at King and Bay.

 

[CDL.TO]

Yes, though perhaps it could be opened up to the city at pedestrian level, at the south and north sides, in some future renovation? There's plenty of room for taxis and other vehicles to drive in at the York Street end and I think that works well. And the tower was also situated at the west end of the site, to allow views from NPS across the lower south tower to the tall buildings at King and Bay.

Renovating the ground level would be nice to make it present a better face to pedestrians. I've noticed the position of the tower and certainly appreciate it. The view of the CBD when exiting City Hall quickly reminds you that you're right at the heart of it all. I'm also a fan of the view of the narrow edge of the building from Queen West.