Toronto Ontario Court of Justice Toronto | 95.7m | 17s | Infrastructure ON | Renzo Piano

While I agree it’s not an iconic building, we ‘re talking about Toronto here. It’s not at all bad by our admittedly low standards, and it’s certainly better than the surface parking lot it replaces.
 
Northern Light said:
Also a question for those in the know; what is the protrusion from the easterly portion of the tower? Is it merely an architectural flourish, or does it have a function?
Click to expand...
Flourish.

It'll be a bit before the details like material palette, height specifications come in. I've asked IO for more info, but nothing yet.

Meanwhile, we have a front page story up, and higher-res versions of the renderings posted in the new database file attached above.

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Why do people want an iconic structure here? For one, this building already has an interesting design. Yes it's muted but that isn't inherently bad. Also, the location is terrible for an avant-garde design. This court house will be right beside Nathan Phillips Square and New City Hall. It's going to be surrounded on all sides by other buildings, with only the south face of the building really visible. Finally, the building is on a side street in a fairly ho-hum part of the city. Why would you put a wild design in a place that people won't be able to see it from, that people don't really venture and beside an already iconic, city-defining complex? To me this is the perfect place for the muted but sophisticated design the rendering suggests.

Also worst case, if the renderings prove too good to be true, all the above still applies. The court house just becomes filler and hidden from most angles.
 
No one seems to notice that they are riffing on the Superior Court building across the road - which is subtle and nice. Like the proportions, and am hopeful that the flag pole stays. Not entirely sure about the shelf elements protruding out through the facade, but maybe we will see more detailed information to suggests its purpose - if it has one.
Love the yellow wall - a nod to RPBW's often used red elevators/shafts, and coloured stairwells. Agree, that this shouldn't over power City Hall, and I am sure they were well aware of its status here and abroad.
 
Agreed that it won't be accused of overshadowing city hall. It also blends in well with the existing superior court building.

Based on the renderings, I'd say it has the potential to be a well-designed institutional building in a somewhat tucked-away location. From a skyline/sightline perspective, it will be almost invisible.
 
You can see this building site well from city hall square, so of course you want to see something interesting and , God love us, not just a functional " filler ". I hope this doesn't prove to be just another squandered downtown opportunity for anything a little different.
 
Here is the new courthouse in context:

oBbZW9l.png
 
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