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

Ramako said:
Though likely unintentional, the entrance reminds me a bit of a humpback whale's mouth, wherein the glass represents the whale's baleen plates:


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I also thought it looked like a (humpback) whale.
 
I was down at the site yesterday and came to the conclusion that the aquarium won't block anything that's not already blocked. The space where it will go currently features a vast hill that when viewed from Bremner blocks the base of the CN Tower. The Aquarium won't be much higher and will in fact open up the space around the tower more.

Given the updated renderings, I look forward to seeing this built and hope that the developers keep the aesthetic language consistent when building on the West side of the site along the SkyDome wall/stairs.
 
Personally I thought the site is more suited to the so called "landsape buildings" where landscaping and the building structure merges. Oh well, it's not to be.

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Personally I thought the site is more suited to the so called "landsape buildings" where landscaping and the building structure merges. Oh well, it's not to be.

AoD
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Which raises the question, why not build it largely underground as was done with the south end of the Convention centre.
 
While I'm satisfied that the aquarium won't block any views of the CN Tower that aren't already obscured by the existing hill, I do prefer the layout of the grounds as shown in this plan made available in commercial real estate circles before Ripley's came in.

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Simplifying the lands around the CN Tower and reorienting the plaza directly south created an opportunity for a real "Canada Square" (or CN Tower Sq.) which could have become a great civic space at the base of Toronto's most recognized landmark.

It appears nonetheless that the Aquarium will be a catalyst for improvements to this plaza. The hill that made the East side of the of tower inaccessible will be eliminated, creating a level grade from Bremner to the CN Tower. This new openness around its base will probably bring upon the removal of some of the clutter that was added in recent years.
 
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Peepers said:
Which raises the question, why not build it largely underground as was done with the south end of the Convention centre.
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I wonder if the aquarium could expand to this area in a future, third stage expansion creating a unique experience of aquarium on top, convention centre below. That would be really cool.

Mongo said:
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^Or they could just add an extra floor to the aquarium. It's not like the current design is anything but a random collection of shapes.

And I'm imagining the logistics of having a heavy tank of squid, sharks and jellyfish above a convention centre wouldn't really make much financial sense, especially when you are losing money from ticket sales to essentially give free squid-viewing to conventioneers. Not that I'm against free squid-viewing or weird combos of uses - I just don't think it's in the cards.

As for a public square: do people actually want to hang out at the base of the CN Tower? Isn't this one of the reasons why we put podiums on towers, so that a giant wall of concrete doesn't make passersby feel like gnats? The CN Tower is really only a monument when viewed from a distance. Up close, it could just be any tall building, due to the lack of scale.
 
Anyone know what the next steps are for this project - it was approved for the most part correct ?
 
Parkdalian said:
^Or they could just add an extra floor to the aquarium. It's not like the current design is anything but a random collection of shapes.

And I'm imagining the logistics of having a heavy tank of squid, sharks and jellyfish above a convention centre wouldn't really make much financial sense, especially when you are losing money from ticket sales to essentially give free squid-viewing to conventioneers. Not that I'm against free squid-viewing or weird combos of uses - I just don't think it's in the cards.

As for a public square: do people actually want to hang out at the base of the CN Tower? Isn't this one of the reasons why we put podiums on towers, so that a giant wall of concrete doesn't make passersby feel like gnats? The CN Tower is really only a monument when viewed from a distance. Up close, it could just be any tall building, due to the lack of scale.
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What? Have you ever been to the CN Tower?
 
^ yea, are you kidding? The majority of the pictures on Google Earth are from the base, whenever you go there for a Jays or Argos game or just in the area you have to weave in and out of people looking up..
People run into other people and inanimate objects trying to walk while looking up, tons of people want to see it from that angle..
 
khristopher said:
It's annoying. I've been complaining about it for years. Torontonians seem to have this attitude that doing things half assed is okay. I find it very strange.
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I couldn't agree more. I would rather wait for the right aquarium than settle for some "gift shop" excuse for an aquarium.

Here's an example of what we WON'T be getting... (click link)

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan.
 
Big Daddy, we don't know specifics yet. Considering that our aquarium is bigger than your average tourist trap, there's reason to believe that it'll have a pretty large tank also. Will it be the 2nd largest in the world like Okinawa? Probably not, but this project isn't aiming for that anyway. If we're waiting for a world leading aquarium in a cold climate city, we'll be waiting a long time.
 
MetroMan said:
Will it be the 2nd largest in the world like Okinawa? Probably not, but this project isn't aiming for that anyway.
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Why not?


MetroMan said:
If we're waiting for a world leading aquarium in a cold climate city, we'll be waiting a long time.
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So, what's the rush? Why do we want an aquarium? Because everyone else has one? Makes us sound more like a spoiled toddler - "I want one too".

Or if it must be an aquarium, why not a design competition from world renown architects - make it special, unique.
 
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Why not? Because the biggest aquariums in the world are also research facilities that study fauna in the bodies of water on which they're located. Lake Ontario is not, nor will it ever be an ideal location to study this science -- at least not to the level that it can justify a massive facility.

While originally skeptical that Ripley's was building this, I'm satisfied with the design and scope of the building, although I would have preferred to see it located directly on the water, in a location that could benefit from the draw (i.e. Ontario Place).
 
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