Toronto Fleur Condos | 85.34m | 29s | Menkes | a—A

stjames2queenwest said:
I hate to be the one to say it... aA has had some true triumphs. But they are really ruining this city with repetition. Hate this comment if you will. But it's true. Anything too many times sucks
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The humanity ... well designed boxes. Few local or even internationally recognized ones don't resort to repetition. I really don't understand why aA is such a target. Yeah, their towers are glassy and have simple point tower massing. Is that really how you guys gauge good vs bad? On the massing?
 
TheKingEast said:
I won't say thy've ruined the city but they have produced a lot of boring, lifeless buildings. They have the odd homerun though. They have evolved from designing glass boxes to designing more glass boxes.
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The odd home run?

Baseball hits and misses are not such a bad analogy, but some of you guys treat everything like there are only two outcomes for a batter in baseball; a home run or a strikeout. It's kids that recognize those kind of plays only, and real fans of the game know there are a pile of outcomes in between. Since this is a forum for discussing architecture, you'd think there'd be more analysis by aficionados, and less of the "You suck" type for screaming from behind home plate.

Anyway, to push it a little, aA is batting way above average. Building after building has been a hit of some magnitude, with only us to debate how big. U Condos, Pier 27, Ice, King Charlotte, 1000 Bay, Brant Park, are all recent hits. We know we've got James and Alter stepping up to the plate shortly, and I'm not worried about their chances.

This one, given what we've seen so far, could be the very odd miss, a likely strikeout. This one should be pulled from the lineup.

stjames2queenwest said:
I hate to be the one to say it... aA has had some true triumphs. But they are really ruining this city with repetition. Hate this comment if you will. But it's true. Anything too many times sucks
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Ruining the city? Get a grip.
 
WiddleBittyKitty said:
Ruining the city? Get a grip.
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Seriously. The number of people on this forum who suggest a single building or developer "ruins" the city have some amazingly privileged lives. If only some people spoke this strongly about poverty or homelessness... Architecture is important but you'd think aA or P&S murdered some user's families the way they react to a design they dislike.
 
I guess some here would have considered set-backs in pre-war New York repetitive, mansard roofs in Paris...

Having some cohesion of aesthetic across a body of work is not viewed as an issue to anybody who values anything other than trickiness and novelty in design. On the contrary, it is a positive for our skyline and streetscape, and all the more so that aA's aesthetic is deeply informed by the local context. Yeah, I don't love this one either. I imagine it is a fairly preliminary design though. No need for histrionics.

That said, there does seem to be a lot of crap going up around the Dundas Square area. If ever there is a location for some playfulness, exuberance and wow-factor it's here, and I just can't fathom why somebody hasn't run with this yet??
 
You guys are funny you all bash every other firm. If I say that aA is boring you freak out and call me childish.

As I am used to hearing on here. Everyone has an opinion. Even if it's not the same as yours
 
Tewder said:
I guess some here would have considered set-backs in pre-war New York repetitive, mansard roofs in Paris...

Having some cohesion of aesthetic across a body of work is not viewed as an issue to anybody who values anything other than trickiness and novelty in design. On the contrary, it is a positive for our skyline and streetscape, and all the more so that aA's aesthetic is deeply informed by the local context. Yeah, I don't love this one either. I imagine it is a fairly preliminary design though. No need for histrionics.

That said, there does seem to be a lot of crap going up around the Dundas Square area. If ever there is a location for some playfulness, exuberance and wow-factor it's here, and I just can't fathom why somebody hasn't run with this yet??
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I don't have an issue with repetition... I have an issue with the repetition of sterile/clinical buildings. This city is a sea of grey, window wall, and blue glass... and balconies that jut out. I find it very jarring and ugly.
 
Stupidandshallow said:
I don't have an issue with repetition... I have an issue with the repetition of sterile/clinical buildings. This city is a sea of grey, window wall, and blue glass... and balconies that jut out. I find it very jarring and ugly.
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I'm not a fan of what you describe either, only the work of aA is not what you are describing... and yeah, i'd love to see stone and/or brick high-rises too but it just ain't gonna happen.
 
Tewder said:
I'm not a fan of what you describe either, only the work of aA is not what you are describing... and yeah, i'd love to see stone and/or brick high-rises too but it just ain't gonna happen.
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Well it's mostly glass and balconies that jut out, so yeah I'd actually lump it into that category. I will say that I don't fault the architects though. I totally recognize that they are serving a client.
 
I agree with ProjectEnd. Some people deserve to be listened to more closely than others. Hey, this isn't a new thing; we all make those snap judgements on a daily basis. And in the end, deciding whose opinion is most sound remains an utterly subjective task - yet another wrinkle in the human condition.

I just hope this project evolves into something more than what the current render suggests. What I'm seeing thus far doesn't exactly feel graceful or inspiring.
 
I don't particularly care for Projectend's elitism but he has a point, insofar as there are a lot of opinions shared on this forum that are lazy, ill-considered, reactionary or repetitive. I'm not a huge fan of some firms in this city, nor am I a huge fan of the manner with which Toronto is being developed but I don't constantly type out the same basic complaint every time I post. No one expects a dissertation with every comment but would it kill people to try and make more interesting and insightful comments? To show they're learning something here?
 
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