Toronto Grand Hotel Redevelopment | 153.95m | 49s | Amexon | Core Architects

[DarkSideDenizen]

In another life as the RCMP Headquarters:

Adding the glass on the west side and improving the entrance was the best thing that ever happened to this building.

That west door, just up the stairs, is where people would leave their fake bombs every other month. It was a pain-in-the-ass getting woken up at 3:00 am and being told we had to evacuate our nearby apartment every time that happened, especially in January.

 

[Koops65]

A zoom-in:

 

[rbt]

...larger commercial structures (e.g. Sheraton)

Sheraton will be around for 100+ years, unless it suddenly becomes acceptable to shadow NP square. A rezoning application for that site would get 1/5th the density Sheraton currently occupies.

 

[Towered]

In another life as the RCMP Headquarters:

View attachment 255221

Adding the glass on the west side and improving the entrance was the best thing that ever happened to this building.
View attachment 255222

That west door, just up the stairs, is where people would leave their fake bombs every other month. It was a pain-in-the-ass getting woken up at 3:00 am and being told we had to evacuate our nearby apartment every time that happened, especially in January.

Are the glass windows on the west side "fake"?

 

[ShonTron]

Are the glass windows on the west side "fake"?

Yes. It's really good at reflecting nearby buildings, but with bright afternoon sun, you can see the concrete behind.

 

[deerparker]

 

[ShonTron]

It’s going fast. Yet the flags are still up.

 

[officedweller]

Someone should salvage that entrance canopy.

 

[Rascacielo]

Today

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

Am I the only one here that doesn't really want to come here 'till they start putting the new structure into the ground...as that's really too painful to watch the current building's demise? /sigh

 

[ShonTron]

It seems dismantlement continues from the inside out. All the metal inside is being sorted. I guess it’s possible the superstructure of the 13-storey building will remain, but I doubt it.

 

[junctionist]

Am I the only one here that doesn't really want to come here 'till they start putting the new structure into the ground...as that's really too painful to watch the current building's demise? /sigh

The new building looks really generic in the renderings, so it might be painful to see it go up, too, knowing what it's replacing.

 

[UtakataNoAnnex]

The new building looks really generic in the renderings, so it might be painful to see it go up, too, knowing what it's replacing.

I dunno about that. The floor plates are semi-circular...not your regular glass box. So I'll give them that. But in the end, it all comes down to the cladding. And whether it makes me scream, "You tore down that building to give us this shite!?" inside...

...personally though, I wish they kept the original structure and did something interesting and without all going 401 Bay Street with it...or done something to compliment the original design. As the current design seems to make every attempt to bury the old one down a memory hole, which I'll agree is quite distressing. /sigh

 

[innsertnamehere]

They haven’t filed a site plan application yet - and given that they are demolishing the hotel, which was supposed to be retained - I fully expect a new design when they do eventually apply.

 

[jje1000]

...personally though, I wish they kept the original structure and did something interesting and without all going 401 Bay Street with it...or done something to compliment the original design. As the current design seems to make every attempt to bury the old one down a memory hole, which I'll agree is quite distressing. /sigh

I'm surprised to see so few tears shed for this building, considering that Brutalism was supposed to be making its comeback nowadays.

Ultimately I feel that heritage preservation nowadays too often comes down to the 'What is now'- aka what visually remains over the 'What could be'- aka the restoration of hidden/lost visual features. Here, dressed up in an unflattering renovation, the Grand Hotel went under the radar of most people, I'd imagine.