Toronto Forma | 308m | 84s | Great Gulf | Gehry Partners

These buildings have gone from 10 to a 9.5, still great, but looking slightly more conventional than before. I hope they don't spend more time 'refining and improving'.
 
Here is a side by side comparison of the model on the official Mirvish+Gehry Facebook page and the photo that Alex Bozikovic posted on the previous page. The latest design is definitely looking less intricate. The bulges seem to be mostly gone or barely there and the lines on the waterfall appear much flatter. I'm not liking what I am seeing. The taller tower's north face (minus the waterfall) is looking not that much different than The Selby.

mhyejc.jpg


Model video

Video source:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=790810224289261

Picture source: https://www.instagram.com/p/BjfO5D6HrTz/?taken-by=globeandmail
 
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ADRM said:
I dunno, that evolution looks to me like the necessary progression from pie-in-the-sky model to buildable building and, even at that, I think they look pretty similar.

This thing ain't gonna be the Selby.
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Fair comment, although the tower does seem to have lost a little of its 8 Spruce texture (which was also buildable of course, albeit in a different market). Still good to see it inching forward.
 
ADRM said:
I dunno, that evolution looks to me like the necessary progression from pie-in-the-sky model to buildable building
(...)
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Exactly. That stresses how ridiculous the original design was:



No freakin way would these get built like this.

That said, according to the article, the street level presence has been emphasized quite a bit with "the two buildings reaching out across the street with billowing multistorey canopies of glass" that sound a lot like Gehry's better known work. That, is totally buildable and would add to the wow factor when seen from King Street.
 
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MetroMan said:
Exactly. That stresses how ridiculous the original design was:


No freakin way would these get built like this.

That said, according to the article, the street level presence has been emphasized with billowing glass canopies "reaching across Duncan to each other" that sound a lot like Gehry's better known work. That, is totally buildable. and would add to the wow factor when seen from King Street.
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I think those are buildable but I can't imagine the views out of the middle tower and a lot of the right tower being anything better than awful, which makes them almost pointless.
 
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Gehry has a large number of projects going on, several in LA that are impotant projects to him - in his favourite city. It really doesn’t appear that Gehry has spent much time on this at all. If I had to guess, I’d say it looks more like it is being designed by engineers than an internationally aclaimed architect.
 
Big Daddy said:
Gehry has a large number of projects going on, several in LA that are impotant projects to him - in his favourite city. It really doesn’t appear that Gehry has spent much time on this at all. If I had to guess, I’d say it looks more like it is being designed by engineers than an internationally aclaimed architect.
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I found that hard to believe - if he doesn't care much about this project he could have gotten a second in command to show up to present the updated design - and we're talking about someone who is approaching 90.

AoD
 
Big Daddy said:
Gehry has a large number of projects going on, several in LA that are impotant projects to him - in his favourite city. It really doesn’t appear that Gehry has spent much time on this at all. If I had to guess, I’d say it looks more like it is being designed by engineers than an internationally aclaimed architect.
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Did you even read the Bozikovic Globe article?

My grandmother is the same age as Gehry and won't make it to Toronto from Ottawa for my sister's wedding. Obviously he must be in better health (although she's doing fine), but I'm with AOD, the mere fact he showed up suggests he is very engaged.
 
Big Daddy said:
Gehry has a large number of projects going on, several in LA that are impotant projects to him - in his favourite city. It really doesn’t appear that Gehry has spent much time on this at all. If I had to guess, I’d say it looks more like it is being designed by engineers than an internationally aclaimed architect.
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Looks can be deceiving. Gehry’s work has grown more refined over time. Looking at the Guggenheim up close, it was disappointing to see how many corners were cut and how much crap is hidden behind the facade. It was a building built for photography, not to be seen up close. Then I saw the Disney Concert Hall and a lot of those early mistakes were figured out. It’s a solid building, beautiful in both photos and up close.

These towers in Toronto might not tell you much because the beauty will be in the materials used. It’s been confirmed that the building will be clad in all metal and glass. Think about 2 gleaming mega towers of metal on the skyline.

It’s also been discussed how the podiums were reworked. From the sounds of it, it’s very distinct Gehry with billowing canopies of glass reaching across the street to one another.

AlvinofDiaspar said:
I found that hard to believe - if he doesn't care much about this project he could have gotten a second in command to show up to present the updated design - and we're talking about someone who is approaching 90.

AoD
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I agree. Gehry wouldn’t stand by his work if he wasn’t proud of it. Frank Gehry is 89. He has nothing left to prove, only a legacy to leave. He certainly doesn’t need the money.

Toronto has always been important to him and he often spoke about his regret in not doing work here. Then the AGO happened and now Toronto is a booming city on everyone's radar. He’s definitely interested.
 
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