Toronto Aquabella at Bayside | 50.9m | 14s | Tridel | 3XN

AlvinofDiaspar said:
That scheme - even if they had won - will still be subjected to VE - it won't turnout anywhere near what it looked like in that rendering.

AoD
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And there's no excuse for that; in this, or any other proposal.

Excellence in all things.

If one starts by accepting mediocrity as an outcome, one will surely achieve that objective.
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
The 3XN design isn't mediocre - what was mediocre was how it was VE-ed.

AoD
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Sigh.

It feels like arguing with someone who you agree with, for reasons I don't understand.

My point was not to excoriate 3XN's design.

It was to suggest that the bar for praise is being set a bit low.

I 'liked' and expressly agreed with @Lachlan Holmes assessment.

My only further point that even with that, the design bar wasn't at maximum height.

Which makes the lowering of that bar all the more disappointing.
 
Northern Light said:
Sigh.

It feels like arguing with someone who you agree with, for reasons I don't understand.

My point was not to excoriate 3XN's design.

It was to suggest that the bar for praise is being set a bit low.

I 'liked' and expressly agreed with @Lachlan Holmes assessment.

My only further point that even with that, the design bar wasn't at maximum height.

Which makes the lowering of that bar all the more disappointing.
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I don't think this particular project need to be an icon - solid, well-designed and built architecture for a filler site is sufficient. I would put more focus on the site next door right by the slip instead.

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
That scheme - even if they had won - will still be subjected to VE - it won't turnout anywhere near what it looked like in that rendering.

AoD
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Which is why they should be barred from publishing renderings they have no intention or hope of delivering. It's dishonest and, in some cases, fraudulent. If this happened in most other industries they'd be roundly lambasted, prosecuted, etc. It's like showing a customer an Audi, delivering a Pontiac, then acting puzzled as to why people are pissed off..

Explaining it all away by saying 'VE' doesn't cut it. This has to stop.
 
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TheSix said:
Question for the UT community, are Aquabella's balcony dividers also functioning as solar panels? I a picture of Aquabella in the UT article on integrating photovoltaic materials and they're also featured in Mitrex's portfolio (solar cladding company).
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Hi @TheSix

The BIPV mentioned in the article has not been used on any Toronto developments. That was just supposed to be a stock photo of other cladding work Mitrex is involved in. To be clear, the balcony dividers at Aquabella are not solar
 
Lachlan Holmes said:
It's a good building with lovely massing... but it bothers me that it would've been a *great* building with just a few small changes.

The metal faux-wood paneling is really unfortunate. In a perfect world, it would have been real wood, but even in the absence of that, darker brown paneling would've sufficed to make the contrast work a lot better. Secondly, I really dislike how light the grey aluminum is... again, I feel it would've made the contrast of the building pop just that extra bit. For reference, I (very roughly) photoshopped one of TheSix's pictures from December to show these changes:

View attachment 295652

I also think that it's unfortunate the white paneling on the building ends isn't cleaner. For my taste, it's just a bit too clunky:



I also think the colouring changes would make the above "inward" section a little less dull.
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Wow, I LOVE how you illustrated you point. Really great work. I complete agree with you on how the building could have more contrast with the "wood" style dividers.

While this building definitely won't "pop", it will lighten this strip significantly and add some much needed depth and texture, making it a solid addition, and a huge jump in quality for Tridel. The other buildings in Bayside are so dark overall, aka the dark grey brick covering Aquavista. With Aquabella's chunky massing, I could see why they chose a lighter palette in the end. I doubt it has anything to do with value engineering, but was a purposeful decision.

With still A TON of white framing to be added, along with the terrace gardens around each stepped tier, I do think it's only uphill from here. But it's definitely has been a slow journey for this one.
 
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