Toronto London On The Esplanade Condos | 102.1m | 33s | Cityzen | Burka

[casaguy]

Excellent perspective, GregV! Thanks for these!

It looks to me like the west tower is now topped out and the rest is just mechanical.

 

[Granny]

Greg!
All great shots, but my favorite is the close up of the mechanical floor on the east building. Really impressed with the way it all finished off with the coloumning and top finished coyning (I know I probably spelled that wrong Adma). I certainly hope the interiors of these buildings keep to these remarkbly high detail standards.
Now, now Urban. I'm sensing someone partied a little too hard last night??

 

[Urban Shocker]

The St Lawrence Centre ( 1970 ) and the former O'Keefe Centre ( 1970 ) are the only two adjacent properties of any architectural significance, so if the idea is to produce something contextual then they're the context. Something along the lines of Teeple's Gansevoort, which riffs off Safdie's Habitat ( 1967 ) with some imagination, might have been one similarly Modernist approach that would have worked on such a site.

Still, given Burka's other buildings, this could have been much worse - so we should be grateful for small mercies.

 

[w.ll.am]

This image shows that they did well to blend their idea in with the two aformentioned buildings...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3050/2973093806_2b6d8846e2_b.jpg

The large concrete corner really helps to bring that corner together especially from a pedestrian standpoint.

They did a great job integrated the project with the adjacent building that will be around for a long time.

 

[syn]

The old brick buildings in the St. Lawrence Market area are not worthwhile but the St. Lawrence Centre is? Imagine a 30-storey version of the St. Lawrence Centre. Yipes. I hope US never ends up on any design review board in the city.

I agree. Considering their heritage, I would say that context takes precedent over the the St. Lawrence Centre.

Some people sure are very selective when it comes to context.

 

[3Dementia]

Bottom line, this is a pleasant suprise instead of an embarrassment. A "condo" project that "bends over backyards" to fit in and the result is very good. OOPS.

Ignore the elists... they will hopefully move away to bigger and better arenas.... and matter even less than they do here.

It's a nice little project and I think everyone who moves in will be happy they did.

 

[Redroom Studios]

as others have already mentioned, I just wanted to restate that this project does a great job acknowledging its seperate contexts on each side. The shorter east tower makes heavy use of red brick and detail through its entire height acknowleding the St Lawrence Market / Old Town heritage look. The columns at the main entrance play off the columns and arches of 25 The Esplanade across the street. And the taller west tower takes on a much more refined modernist look with clean lines and glass as its main material and concrete on the podium levels, making the transition to the two arts venues. It all makes perfect sense to me.

The thing that doesnt make sense to me is that US is a big fan of aA's work on the glass tower(s) at The Distillery where a similar contrast in styles is at play...

 

[syn]

as others have already mentioned, I just wanted to restate that this project does a great job acknowledging its seperate contexts on each side. The shorter east tower makes heavy use of red brick and detail through its entire height acknowleding the St Lawrence Market / Old Town heritage look. The columns at the main entrance play off the columns and arches of 25 The Esplanade across the street. And the taller west tower takes on a much more refined modernist look with clean lines and glass as its main material and concrete on the podium levels, making the transition to the two arts venues. It all makes perfect sense to me.

The thing that doesnt make sense to me is that US is a big fan of aA's work on the glass tower(s) at The Distillery where a similar contrast in styles is at play...

The answer is obvious. He has a fear of heights.

 

[drum118]

 

[Tewder]

A shame, really, that it ignores the existing context of worthwhile adjacent buildings - the brutalist St. Lawrence Centre and the Modernist O'Keefe - and opts to channel the Ye Olde Red Brick style of the Old Spaghetti Factory instead. We could have seen something much more progressive.

It is an interesting site to be sure, as the architectural context is quite diverse here. Personally I think the building does a good job of blending in with a nod to several of the different styles, and the brick style used is not 'Ye olde' at all, thankfully, and is actually more sympathetic to the O'Keefe and St. Lawrence by allowing those buildings to stand out in contrast rather than competing with them with some obnoxious and derivative neo-brutalist pile of concerete.

 

[Granny]

Not quite topped off.
Second floor for the 2-floor penthouses now goes in. Angle of the floor plate will shift about 30 degrees or so and shrink a bit to fit on the existing floorplate.
Then the mechanical floor which will be integrated on top of that I believe. It won't look at all like the east tower mechanical. I have a hunch there are going to be a few raised eybrows when everyone sees how this last chunk gets finished off.
Then again...what the hell do I know.. ) I'm still trying to figure out what could possibly be 'proper context' and its relationship to that concrete bunker "heritage site' north of this tower.: Perhaps a missle silo?, something akin to the Nasa shuttle Hanger maybe? D

I'll also respond to that post as soon as I can manage to find some 'red brick' on the Old Spagehtti Factory building. Between the stucco on the front and the mural on the side, I havn't seen any on it for over 20 years but mabe in the back alley..

 

[Urban Shocker]

syn says that "context takes precedence over the St. Lawrence Centre" but of course you can't get any more contextual than adjacent buildings - one of which is the St. Lawrence Centre. Strange that he would claim that "Some people sure are very selective when it comes to context" when that's exactly what he's doing.

The comments about the St. Lawrence Centre and "some obnoxious and derivative neo-brutalist pile of concrete" serve to illustrate what happens when people who can't see beyond the fashionable/unfashionable cycle pass judgement. The City has recognized and listed a number of Modernist and Brutalist buildings. Much the same abuse was hurled at our heritage of Victorian buildings several decades ago, and at art deco more recently, and at Modernism more recently still. Books like Concrete Toronto show that a growing number of people are recognizing the merit of what has been built here since the 1950's even if the petit bourgeoisie and their "good taste" are still behind the curve. Needless to say, their contrarian views aren't represented on our design review panels.

 

[Urban Shocker]

As for "ignoring elites", well I've always associated elites - in any field - with issues of excellence. If our design review panels, for instance, aren't composed of elite architects and designers we're in trouble, because these are the people who mentor second-rank talents to raise the bar on the quality of their work to benefit our city as a whole.

 

[Automation Gallery]

What a surprise,nice looking project.

 

[syn]

syn says that "context takes precedence over the St. Lawrence Centre" but of course you can't get any more contextual than adjacent buildings - one of which is the St. Lawrence Centre. Strange that he would claim that "Some people sure are very selective when it comes to context" when that's exactly what he's doing.

I don't really think it's one or the other. I was merely stating that an argument could be made the other way too.

You seem to think the neighbourhood context is irrelevant.

In any case, as some have pointed out, there has been an attempt to address both contexts in the design of the complex. It may not be a great attempt, but it's clearly there.