88 Scott Street has received plenty of attention on UrbanToronto's Forum since the initial project renderings were released. Developer Concert and architects Page + Steele / IBI Group were applauded for designing a building which broke from the all-glass standard we see in many of Toronto's new condominiums. It seems, however, that the praise may have been lavished too soon, as reworked project elevations show some dramatic changes being made to the tower design.

New Elevations and Old Elevations for 88 Scott Street by Concert Properties

The image above shows the new elevations (on the left in darker outline) contrasted with the old ones, on the right. The most significant changes can be seen on the crown of the building. What was previously an elegant stepped system composed of terraces — reminiscent of projects one might find in New York City — has become a relatively squared-off crown. Further down the tower the glass boxes seen in the rendering below appear to be exaggerated with another added a quarter of the way up, and terracing decreased. The tower has also shifted south on its podium, becoming more flush with Wellington Street, presenting a strong vertical façade rather than the stepped-back south elevation seen previously.

Initial project rendering for 88 Scott Street by Concert Properties

It remains unclear what motivated these changes — while some put the "blame" on the developer, others point towards a recent document from the Design Review Panel, shared by Forum member ramako, in which was stated:

"Members were generally comfortable with the tower design, but did feel that it would benefit from a simpler, contemporary expression. Members were interested by the concept of relating various levels of the tower to neighbouring towers, however they felt that this neighbouring context would be likely to change over time. Subsequently, Panel was unconvinced by this concept, and encouraged the proponent to focus on making a grand and contemporary design that is unique to the subject building."

 It's worthwhile to note that some changes have simply been exaggerated by the line weight in the new elevations — the old design was significantly lighter, while the new elevation's darker lines make it appear more dense and imposing. This does not change the quite significant alterations to the crown and situation on the podium. We're curious about what instigated these modifications — let us know what you think about these changes, and keep an eye out here for more information.