Toronto Eaton Centre (Ongoing Renewal) | ?m | ?s | Cadillac Fairview | Zeidler

shortbranch said:
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New planters, benches, and waste receptacles throughout the centre.
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Finally. This is what made the Eaton Centre unique when it opened and through the 80s. “The outside, inside. One of their first slogans was “The Great Indoors”. It’s become so sterile with the glass and stainless steel. Plants bring the life back. Hopefully they go bigger, needs some trees.

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Love the seating too. The’re nowhere to sit and people watch. Dundas atrium is particularly in need of seating with people sitting on ledges (and the floor!).
 
nightstreak said:
Finally. This is what made the Eaton Centre unique when it opened and through the 80s. “The outside, inside. One of their first slogans was “The Great Indoors”. It’s become so sterile with the glass and stainless steel. Plants bring the life back. Hopefully they go bigger, needs some trees.

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Love the seating too. The’re nowhere to sit and people watch. Dundas atrium is particularly in need of seating with people sitting on ledges (and the floor!).
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Great observation. Eaton Centre does need more seating. Yorkdale and Square One could too, but they still have noticeably more than Eaton Centre, particularly benches in the corridors.

I suspect CF's rationale is concern about loitering and security.
 
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nightstreak said:
Finally. This is what made the Eaton Centre unique when it opened and through the 80s. “The outside, inside. One of their first slogans was “The Great Indoors”. It’s become so sterile with the glass and stainless steel. Plants bring the life back. Hopefully they go bigger, needs some trees.
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If I recall correctly, the original logo for the Eaton Centre featured a tree under a stylized arch. Can't find a pic of it though.
 
HometownPride said:
If I recall correctly, the original logo for the Eaton Centre featured a tree under a stylized arch. Can't find a pic of it though.
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^^^^^ Exactly.. They removed all/most hints of proper greenery (trees) to the detriment of the mall - not to mention making it a much more banal experience. I assume it had something to do with the trees blocking the signage of the various stores..or some other random BS.

CF Toronto Eaton Centre | Logopedia ...

​

 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Anemic attempt at re-greening - it looked more like the focus is on the planters with some anonymous vegetation added for colour. If they think this is going to make the place more lively, they need to think again.

AoD
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I would love to see the actual trees back, but I get that the main corridor is actually capacity constrained, and that may not be on for that reason alone, besides which I'm sure the tree roots caused issues over time. (not an excuse, it's very manageable but you have to know what you're doing.)

That said, let me offer an alternative greening choice that I think would add value, has no roots issues and could be quite dramatic.

Vines/plants that spill like them (hang down from planter, rather than growing up) attached to base of the second floor and allowing them to frame the main arcade on the south side.

They can be auto-watered, and you can double-hull the planters to minimize any risk of leaks.

The idea:

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Source: https://www.hoselink.com.au/blogs/g...tdPo5KuHXM8QqWN-l56Ea-nrzNHJL6OJe2EsMbPuifiNS

You can actually see a hint of this idea in the Eaton Centre's former greenery as illustrated in @nightstreak 's photos:

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Just imagine that coming down towards level one constantly.

Then use the planters to have complimentary lighter coloured ferns on their edge, and then a bold, bright plant in the middle. I'd consider changing the middle plants out seasonally, and actually selling them.

Mums in fall, Flowering Kale in winter, Tulips in spring, and in summer.........Bird of Paradise, surrounded by Bewitched Begonia

On that last one:

Bird of Paradise:

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Source: (reddit) AustinGardening/comments/1fvyjbp/orange_bird_of_paradise_success_in_tx

Bewtiched Begonia:

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Source: https://www.jparkers.co.uk/begonia-rex-bewitched-red-black/
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Anemic attempt at re-greening - it looked more like the focus is on the planters with some anonymous vegetation added for colour. If they think this is going to make the place more lively, they need to think again.

AoD
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I dunno, those Monstera Deliciosa can get really big and they require little watering, they pull moisture out of the air and don't like direct sunlight. They could do well in the mall environment.

Northern Light said:
I would love to see the actual trees back, but I get that the main corridor is actually capacity constrained, and that may not be on for that reason alone, besides which I'm sure the tree roots caused issues over time. (not an excuse, it's very manageable but you have to know what you're doing.)
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This was accounted for in the construction of The Eaton Centre. The round drop down ceilings visible in @shortbranch 's photo are tree wells for the floor above. I'm sure they accounted for the required depth and diameter of roots for the tree species they planted that did well in those containers for decades.

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The mall isn’t interested in people sitting and loitering around. They want people to walk and shop until they drop. :D
 
nightstreak said:
There’s definitely a new regime at Cadillac Fairview. Seating! In the Dundas Atrium! 🤯

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Not a square to spare! Behind me, there were people sitting on the ground. Who would’ve thought people want to sit down… at the mall??

More seating inside. Again, very well used.
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A few years back (like 2018), a bunch of friends and I ended up inside the entrance on the seats and wall by the former mid-mall Starbucks opposite Shuter after a run. We were all enjoying food/beverages from Starbucks, and mall security came to scope us out. Clearly we weren't exactly welcome. This was a group of people in our 40s. It's not exactly welcoming when people don't feel they can sit and stay. Hopefully this is a sign things have changed
 
Yes, it's been clear for the last decade or more that sitting in the mall wasn't welcome. I don't get this rationale. People who sit can take a break and shop more. If someone gets tired and there's nowhere to rest, guess where they're going? Home!

Would be very nice if we could get some plants back in the Dundas atrium again. And maybe demolish H&M and make it a glass atrium again. What a profoundly stupid idea to destroy this iconic space.

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This was the gateway into the Eaton Centre. If you try to go in through the Dundas entrance, you'll know how hard it is to push through the rotating doors and that people are all going in and out of a single automatic accessibility door. And no, nobody goes in through H&M which the cynic in me wonders might've been the intention to make the main doors hard to go through. Didn't work CF wiseguy!
 
nightstreak said:
Yes, it's been clear for the last decade or more that sitting in the mall wasn't welcome. I don't get this rationale. People who sit can take a break and shop more. If someone gets tired and there's nowhere to rest, guess where they're going? Home!

Would be very nice if we could get some plants back in the Dundas atrium again. And maybe demolish H&M and make it a glass atrium again. What a profoundly stupid idea to destroy this iconic space.

View attachment 703297
20120210-EatonCentre-Postcard


This was the gateway into the Eaton Centre. If you try to go in through the Dundas entrance, you'll know how hard it is to push through the rotating doors and that people are all going in and out of a single automatic accessibility door. And no, nobody goes in through H&M which the cynic in me wonders might've been the intention to make the main doors hard to go through. Didn't work CF wiseguy!
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It went from a gloriously welcoming space to the miserly afterthought that it is now. The mall isn't a pleasant place to spend time in - which coupled with an uninspiring slate of retail offerings just encourages me to stay away.

AoD
 
nightstreak said:
Yes, it's been clear for the last decade or more that sitting in the mall wasn't welcome. I don't get this rationale. People who sit can take a break and shop more. If someone gets tired and there's nowhere to rest, guess where they're going? Home!

Would be very nice if we could get some plants back in the Dundas atrium again. And maybe demolish H&M and make it a glass atrium again. What a profoundly stupid idea to destroy this iconic space.

View attachment 703297
20120210-EatonCentre-Postcard


This was the gateway into the Eaton Centre. If you try to go in through the Dundas entrance, you'll know how hard it is to push through the rotating doors and that people are all going in and out of a single automatic accessibility door. And no, nobody goes in through H&M which the cynic in me wonders might've been the intention to make the main doors hard to go through. Didn't work CF wiseguy!
Click to expand...
Very big error in judgement by CF. This land-grab turned what was once a great meeting space, into a terribly congested and overall disappointing and commercialized entrance to the EC! Shame really.
 
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